Bill
HB 25-1176
HB 25-1176 aims to reduce stigma around behavioral health by protecting providers from discriminatory credentialing/licensing actions, boosting access to care for patients.
Status and key metadata
- Bill number: HB 25-1176
- Title: Behavioral Health Treatment Stigma for Providers
- Introduced: February 10, 2025
- Final status: Governor Signed (May 31, 2025)
- Primary sponsors (House and Senate): Dafna Michaelson Jenet (primary), Cleave Simpson (primary), Rebekah Stewart (primary) and many cosponsors across both chambers.
- Note: Full bill text was not included with your request. The summary below describes the bill’s legislative progress, likely intent based on the title, typical provisions found in legislation on this topic, affected parties, and recommended next steps to review exact statutory language.
Legislative timeline (selected)
- 2025-02-10: Introduced in House; assigned to Health & Human Services
- 2025-03-04: House Third Reading Passed
- 2025-03-06: Introduced in Senate; assigned to Health & Human Services
- 2025-04-23: Senate Third Reading Passed
- 2025-05-13: Signed by President of the Senate and Speaker of the House; sent to Governor
- 2025-05-31: Governor Signed
Intended purpose (based on title)
- The bill’s title indicates it is intended to address stigma associated with behavioral health treatment as it relates to providers. That could include reducing stigma experienced by people who seek behavioral health care, protecting health care providers who deliver behavioral-health services from discriminatory treatment, or removing barriers that stigma creates for provider workforce recruitment, retention, credentialing, or reimbursement.
Possible key provisions (text not provided — these are common approaches used in similar legislation)
- Anti-stigma / education: mandates for public or provider-facing education and training to reduce stigma toward behavioral health conditions and treatment.
- Workforce protections: prohibitions on credentialing or licensing penalties solely because a provider treats people with certain behavioral health conditions (e.g., substance use disorder), or protections for providers who use evidence-based behavioral health treatments.
- Privacy and non-discrimination: strengthened confidentiality or anti-discrimination protections for patients and/or providers related to behavioral health treatment.
- Insurance and reimbursement: measures to promote parity or prevent insurer practices that penalize providers offering behavioral health care.
- Data/reporting/funding: requirements for state agencies to collect data, produce reports, or allocate grants to reduce stigma and support behavioral health provider capacity.
Who would be affected
- Behavioral health providers (mental health counselors, psychologists, social workers, addiction specialists, psychiatrists) and their employers.
- Patients who receive behavioral health services.
- Health-care licensing and credentialing boards and insurers.
- State agencies responsible for behavioral health policy, workforce development, and public education.
Procedural/timeline notes and next steps
- The Governor has signed the bill; an effective date and implementing details will be in the enrolled bill text or the bill’s final language. That information is necessary to determine compliance deadlines, funding provisions, and any rulemaking requirements for state agencies.
- To determine the bill’s specific statutory changes and operational impact, review the final enrolled bill text (available from the legislature’s website), any fiscal note, and related rulemaking or department guidance that follows enactment.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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