WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

S 773

Relates to permitting the sale or distribution of expanded polystyrene containers that are designed or intended to be used for cold storage for certain purposes

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Liz Krueger

Expands access by eliminating routine preauthorization for many inpatient and outpatient behavioral-health services and broadening who can determine medical necessity.

SIGNED CHAP.83
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 773

Summary — S.773 (An Act expanding access to mental health services) — Chapter 83 (2025)

Status
- Enacted: Signed by the Governor as Chapter 83 (signed 02/14/2025; delivered 02/12/2025).
- Filed/Filed-by: Senate Docket No. 1645; presented by Sen. John F. Keenan.
- Note: The bill text before enactment focuses on expanding access to mental-health services (despite an inconsistent short title appearing in some header material).

Purpose / intent
- To expand timely access to medically necessary mental‑health and substance‑use services by:
- Eliminating certain preauthorization barriers for inpatient and acute behavioral-health care;
- Clarifying which clinicians may determine medical necessity and provide evaluations;
- Encouraging development of acute psychiatric capacity by health facilities.

Key provisions
1. Elimination of routine preauthorization for defined behavioral‑health services
- Group Insurance Commission (GIC) and Commonwealth Medicaid (Chapter 118E, §10O) must cover medically necessary services in the following settings without requiring preauthorization before treatment:
- inpatient psychiatric facilities;
- community health centers, community behavioral health centers, community mental health centers;
- outpatient substance‑use disorder providers and hospital outpatient departments;
- community‑based acute treatment, intensive community‑based acute treatment, partial hospitalization programs, crisis stabilization services, and youth crisis stabilization services.
- If a patient is admitted, the treatment facility must notify the carrier within three business days of admission and provide a limited set of information (patient name, facility, time of admission, diagnosis, initial treatment plan). Services provided before notification must be covered.
- Medical necessity is to be determined by the treating clinician in consultation with the patient and documented in the medical record.

  1. Expanded definition of “licensed mental health professional”

    • Amends Chapters 111 and related regulatory text to broaden which professionals qualify to perform psychiatric/substance‑use evaluations and determine medical necessity. Included (non‑exhaustive): psychiatrists, addiction‑medicine physicians, psychologists, independent clinical social workers, certified social workers, mental‑health counselors (and supervised), physician assistants in psychiatry/addiction, psychiatric clinical nurse specialists, psychiatric mental‑health nurse practitioners, certified addictions nurses, licensed alcohol & drug counselors, other master’s‑level clinicians (including marriage & family therapists), interns/residents/fellows acting within hospital policies, and master’s‑degree clinicians pursuing licensure under supervision.

  2. Facility development / capital expenditures

    • Amends §25C½ of Chapter 111 to allow health facilities to seek approval for capital expenditures to develop acute psychiatric services (inpatient, community‑based acute/intensive programs, partial hospitalization, crisis stabilization) if the facility demonstrates a need for licensing by the Department of Mental Health.

Who is affected
- Directly: GIC‑insured active and retired Commonwealth employees; MassHealth enrollees and members of Medicaid managed‑care contracts; patients seeking inpatient or acute behavioral‑health care.
- Indirectly: private and public carriers, hospitals, community behavioral‑health providers, licensed clinicians (expanded scope for evaluations), and facilities planning to add acute psychiatric capacity.
- Fiscal impact: likely increased near‑term utilization of covered services and administrative costs to carriers and state programs; potential long‑term effects include improved access and shifts in care settings (not specified in the text).

Procedural / implementation notes
- The bill sets operational requirements (three‑business‑day notification; limited content of notification; documentation of medical necessity).
- Several sections of the enacted text amend existing Massachusetts statutes and regulatory definitions (Chapters 32A, 111, 118E). Some later sections in the provided text were truncated; implementers should consult the final Chapter 83 text and implementing regulations for full detail.

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

Sign in to ask a question.