.png){kind=logo}
DENVER, CO — The Health and Human Services Committee today passed legislation to expand access to behavioral health care by cutting red tape for providers and patients. HB26-1002, sponsored by Representatives Lindsay Gilchrist and Kyle Brown, would reduce barriers for certain providers seeking reimbursement, modernize licensing requirements and save patients money on out-of-pocket care.
“We’ve made important strides to expand access to health care, but Coloradans with health insurance still face gaps in coverage and are often forced to pay out-of-pocket for behavioral health care,” said Rep. Lindsay Gilchrist, D-Denver. “In Colorado, certain barriers prevent behavioral health providers from entering an insurance network and receiving timely reimbursements, which places a strain on the behavioral health workforce. In 2023, one in five Coloradans couldn’t receive the behavioral health care they needed, and this bill eliminates some of the roadblocks faced by providers and patients. This bill saves patients money by making it easier for them to access behavioral health care providers in their insurance network.”
“Right now, if a patient can’t find a behavioral health care provider in-network, they often turn to a provider outside of their network, which costs them money and time,” said Rep. Kyle Brown, D-Louisville. “This bill works in multiple ways to improve our behavioral health care system by reducing some of the cumbersome barriers that providers and patients face when participating in insurance networks. Our bill cuts out-of-pocket costs to patients by making it possible for them to use the insurance they already have to access behavioral health care. Together, we’re taking steps to streamline Colorado’s behavioral health care system to save patients money and strengthen the provider network.”
HB26-1002 passed committee by a vote of 10-2. This bill would improve access to behavioral health care and substance use disorder treatment by reducing barriers to both providers and patients. Coloradans are nearly eleven times more likely to be forced to rely on out-of-network providers when seeking behavioral health care than physical health care. This results in much higher out-of-pocket costs for Colorado patients. In addition to a lack of participating providers, insurance companies’ slow, confusing, and inconsistent credentialing processes cause delays for providers eager to see patients and patients wait longer to receive care.
To help remedy the insurance hurdles, save patients money and reduce wait times for behavioral health care, HB26-1002 sets timely standards in state law for the credentialing and reimbursement of behavioral health care providers. The bill also updates licensing requirements for social workers and tackles misleading “ghost networks,” which offer patients contact information for providers that are not actually covered in their plan.
If signed into law, Colorado would join Oklahoma, New York, New Jersey and Illinois in taking similar action to boost their behavioral health care workforce and patients’ access to timely care.