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HB 709

Require private insurers cover telehealth mental health services

136th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Munira Abdullahi and 10 co-sponsors

Requires private health plans to cover telehealth mental health services with parity to in-person care, including no telehealth exclusions and similar cost-sharing.

Referred to committee
#commerce #insurance
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Bill Summary · HB 709

Summary of HB 709 (Ohio, 136th General Assembly)

Main purpose

HB 709 seeks to amend Ohio Revised Code section 3902.30 to require private health benefit plans to cover telehealth mental health services to the same extent as in-person mental health services. The bill enshrines parity for telehealth, specifically for mental health care, within the existing telehealth coverage framework.

Key provisions and changes

  • Coverage parity for telehealth mental health services:
    • Health benefit plans must cover telehealth services for mental health on the same basis and to the same extent as in-person mental health care. This includes:
    • Outpatient mental health services (preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, palliative interventions) delivered via telehealth according to an established treatment plan.
    • Mental health services as defined in Ohio Revised Code section 5119.01.
  • Non-exclusion of telehealth services:
    • Plans may not exclude coverage for a service solely because it is provided via telehealth.
  • Reimbursement:
    • Health plan issuers must reimburse telehealth providers for telehealth services that are covered under a patient’s health benefit plan. The bill clarifies that this does not create a mandated specific reimbursement amount beyond existing practice.
  • Benefit maximums:
    • Plans may not impose annual or lifetime telehealth benefit maximums that exceed the plan’s overall benefit maximums.
  • Cost-sharing:
    • Telehealth services cannot have cost-sharing that exceeds the cost-sharing for comparable in-person services.
    • A telehealth communication initiated by the provider, with patient consent from prior occasions and intended for preventive care, may be exempt from cost-sharing. If such a communication is time-based, only the actual provider time spent is billable.
  • Clarifications and limitations:
    • The bill does not require reimbursement for costs beyond standard reimbursement for in-person services.
    • It does not require telehealth reimbursement rates to match in-person rates exactly.
    • It does not mandate coverage for asynchronous communication beyond what is described in the applicable health benefit plan.
  • Rulemaking:
    • Ohio’s Superintendent of Insurance may adopt rules necessary to implement these requirements, under Chapter 119 of the Revised Code. Rules adopted are not subject to the same procedural requirements as other rulemaking provisions.

Who would be affected

  • Private health plan issuers in Ohio that provide health benefit plans to individuals or groups.
  • Health care professionals delivering mental health services via telehealth (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, licensed counselors, and other mental health providers within their scope of practice).
  • Enrollees/covered individuals under private health benefit plans who receive telehealth mental health services.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Section 2 of the bill repeals the current section 3902.30 and enacts revised language to implement telehealth parity for mental health.
  • The bill was introduced February 24, 2026, and referred to committee on February 25, 2026.
  • As introduced, it contains a rulemaking provision enabling the Ohio Superintendent of Insurance to issue necessary regulations to carry out the Act’s requirements.

Note on scope

  • The parity requirement aligns telehealth with existing in-person coverage for health care services more broadly, but the bill focuses specifically on mental health services delivered via telehealth.
  • The framework reiterates existing telehealth parity provisions while explicitly incorporating outpatient mental health and mental health care related to prevention and treatment of mental illness.

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

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