Brief (1)
SB 547, as amended, requires the state employee health benefits program, on and after January 1, 2001, to provide a program of insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses under terms and conditions no less extensive than coverage for any other type of health care.
For the purposes of this act, "mental illness" means the following: schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, brief reactive psychosis, paranoid or delusional disorder, atypical psychosis, major affective disorders (bipolar and major depression), cyclothymic and dysthymic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder, including autism, as those terms are defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. On and after January 1, 2001, the state health benefits program will not be required to provide coverage under the law requiring coverage for alcoholism, drug abuse, and nervous or mental conditions for the mental illnesses defined in this bill.
Additionally, and as required by current law, on or before March 1, 2002, the State Employee Health Care Commission will submit to legislative leaders a report indicating the impact the mental illness mandate has had on the state health benefit plan, including data on the utilization and costs of the mandated coverage. The Commission will recommend whether the mandated mental illness coverage should continue for the state health care benefits program or whether additional utilization and cost data is required.
Further, SB 547, as amended, requires health insurers to permit a woman insured by the insurer to visit an in-network obstetrician or gynecologist for routine gynecological care at least one time each calendar year without requiring the woman to first visit a primary care provider, so long as the care is medically necessary and includes routine care, and the obstetrician or gynecologist confers with the woman's primary care provider before performing a diagnostic procedure that is not routine gynecological care rendered during the visit. This provision is made a part of and supplemental to the Patient Protection Act.
The bill specifically exempts the requirement for gynecological care from the law making new health insurance mandates subject first to the state health care benefits program and evaluation by the State Employee Health Care Commission.
Background
SB 547 would create parity between insurance coverage for the treatment for specified mental illnesses and other physical health conditions. Those in support of the bill include representatives of the Insurance Commissioner, Kansas Mental Health Coalition, Alliance for Mental Illness - Kansas, Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns, Keys for Networking, Association of Community Mental Health Centers, Kansas Psychiatric Society, a psychiatrist, a psychotherapist, and family members of individuals with mental illness.
The provision concerning gynecological care is supported by the Kansas Insurance Department, the Kansas Medical Society, and the Women's Health Group-Manhattan, Kansas.
SB 547 was amended by the Committee and reported to the Senate. Prior to action, the bill was re-referred to the Committee. Upon further discussion and amendment, the Committee directed the drafting of Senate Sub. for SB 547, which is described in this Supplemental Note.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html