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A 1662

Relates to contact information on motor vehicle accident reports for commercial enterprises

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Linda Rosenthal

NJ A 1662 limits what mental health providers may share with insurers to a small, confidential data set, excludes psychotherapy notes, and requires HIPAA compliance.

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Bill Summary · A 1662

Summary of New Jersey Assembly Bill A 1662

Note: The introduced text of A 1662 focuses on the disclosure of certain behavioral health care information to health insurance carriers, not on motor vehicle accident reports. The bill’s title mentions accident reports for commercial enterprises, but the introduced content governs privacy and data disclosure related to behavioral health care.

What the bill aims to do

  • Establish a narrow, controlled framework for what mental health care professionals may disclose to health insurance carriers about a patient.
  • Prohibit carriers from demanding or requiring information beyond what the bill permits.
  • Reinforce patient privacy and confidentiality by marking disclosed information as confidential and requiring compliance with HIPAA and other federal standards.

Key provisions

Section 1 — Information that may be disclosed to a carrier

A mental health care professional may provide a carrier with the following, upon request:
1) Personal and administrative details: patient’s name, age, sex, address, educational status, identifying number within the insurance program, date of onset of difficulty, date of initial consultation, dates of sessions, session type (individual or group), and Fees.
2) Diagnostic information: therapeutic characterizations consistent with DSM (or another professionally recognized diagnostic manual).
3) Patient status: voluntary or involuntary; inpatient or outpatient.
4) Reason for continuing services: limited to an assessment of current functioning and level of distress, described as none or by mild/moderate/severe/extreme.
5) Prognosis: limited to the minimal time period during which treatment might continue.

Section 1b — Psychotherapy notes

  • Carriers may not request or require psychotherapy notes.

Section 1c — Confidentiality and delivery

  • Information disclosed to a carrier must be marked “confidential.”
  • If the patient or authorized rep requests it, disclosures can be forwarded to a specified individual.
  • Carriers must comply with HIPAA and other applicable privacy standards.

Section 1d — Patient authorization

  • Nothing in the bill restricts a patient’s ability to authorize disclosure to a carrier beyond the allowed information.

Section 1e — Definitions

  • “Behavioral health care services”: services for assessment and treatment of mental illness, emotional disorders, or substance use disorders.
  • “Carrier”: defined similarly to existing state law.
  • “Mental health care professional”: licensed or certified professionals in the state providing behavioral health services.
  • “Psychotherapy notes”: defined with specific exclusions (e.g., excludes medication data, session times, treatment modalities, etc.).

Section 2 — Carrier limitations

  • Carriers may not request or require information beyond what Section 1 permits.

Section 3 — Effective date

  • The act takes effect on the first day of the fourth month after enactment.

Who is affected

  • Mental health care professionals licensed or certified in New Jersey.
  • Health insurance carriers operating under New Jersey statutes.
  • Covered individuals/patients receiving behavioral health care services.
  • Authorized representatives of patients (for forwarding confidential information).

Context and intent

  • The bill aims to reconcile potential conflicts between licensure rules governing the disclosure of psychotherapy notes and utilization-management practices by carriers.
  • It codifies a narrow set of information that can be shared with carriers and protects patient confidentiality by excluding psychotherapy notes and requiring confidentiality markings and privacy compliance.

Procedural history and status

  • Introduced: January 9, 2024.
  • Initial committee: Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee (2024 action).
  • Current status: Referred to Transportation (as of January 10, 2025). Sponsor: Linda Rosenthal (primary).
  • Related bills from prior sessions exist (e.g., A 9272, A 4951, A 603, A 1164, A 3809).

Practical considerations

  • Providers would need to implement processes to assemble and disseminate only the permitted information, ensure confidentiality markings, and handle patient-directed disclosures.
  • Carriers would need to adjust data requests to conform to the limited data set allowed by the bill and maintain HIPAA compliance.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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