Four laws related to improving access to behavioral health care in Oklahoma are now in effect after Healthy Minds Policy Initiatives worked with lawmakers this legislative session.
Zack Stoycoff, the executive director of the initiatives, said Healthy Minds worked diligently with lawmakers to pass its four priority bills, which is the most successful policy Healthy Minds has seen since its launch in 2019.
“A lot of these bills may seem pretty far-fetched to the average Oklahoman,” Stoycoff said. “They actually address some of the more systemic reasons why we can’t get behavioral health care. These bills are designed to really help Oklahoma families and help Oklahomans who are struggling with behavioral health issues in a real and meaningful way, immediately.
Senate Bill 442 was authored by Rep. Chris Sneed (R-Fort Gibson) and Sen. John Michael Montgomery (R-Lawton), who resigned in July. This is based on a study conducted by Healthy Minds in February, which found that among the state’s five largest private insurers, 65% of their behavioral health providers were inaccessible and half of them had lines telephones disconnected or out of service.
Now, Oklahoma insurance companies will be required to update their directories every 60 days to ensure accuracy. The law also requires insurers to remove providers from plan directories if they have not submitted a claim in a year.
The net effect is that, the insurance company, it’s their product to you and me, and if you don’t keep it accurate and up to date, it would be like a car dealership selling us a car and saying We don’t don’t know if it works well. Good luck, Stoycoff said. And so we just say, make sure the car is working properly when we buy it.
SB 254, authored by Sen. Jessica Garvin (R-Duncan) and Rep. Jeff Boatman (R-Tulsa), requires commercial insurance companies to arrange behavioral health care for their members if they cannot find a timely access.
Healthy Minds surveyed providers in nine urban, suburban and rural ZIP codes across the state and found that, of the 40 providers surveyed, 60% could provide information on wait times, 33% could offer an appointment -you in a month and 18% could offer one per week.
Stoycoff also said Healthy Minds found that insurance plans were leaving out the vast majority of available providers, with the best example being an insurance company covering only 30% of available behavioral health providers.
To access timely care, patients should call their insurance company to work with them to find a provider. From there, insurance companies have 30 days to locate care for a routine outpatient visit, seven days for a hospital visit, and 24 hours for a more urgent situation, such as health center visits. of crisis.
If care cannot be located, the insurance company must arrange for out-of-network care. The cost to plan members will be capped based on individual plans to match copays and deductibles from in-network providers.
Both of these laws will be regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department, and Stoycoff said Oklahomans can call the department if they have access issues.
“If you have a problem with an insurance company and you feel like they are not following these laws, get the phone number for the Oklahoma Department of Insurance, call them and file a complaint. She will tell you if it’s not one of her regulated diets,” Stoycoff said. “And if not, the federal government also has a complaint number you can call.”
Other laws currently on the books include House Bill 2175 and SB 444. HB 2175, authored by Rep. Cynthia Roe (R-Lindsay) and Sen. Paul Rosino (R-Oklahoma City), creates the Workforce Development Fund behavioral health.
Stoycoff said the fund would allow the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse to operate a loan repayment program for anyone who wants to earn a degree that allows them to become a therapist or other mental health professional. This will also help fund an increase in the number of psychiatric residences in Oklahoma.
The program is expected to receive funding in the next state budget, and Stoycoff said a good start for the fund would be $17 million.
SB 444, also authored by Montgomery and Rep. Nicole Miller (R-Edmond), would allow health care providers to be reimbursed for case consultations with primary care physicians.
Stoycoff said this would create easier entry points for access to mental health care, especially in rural areas.
Nearly half of people who die by suicide saw a primary care doctor in the last month of their life, Stoycoff said. We are missing opportunities in health care, in the most basic setting where you should receive health care, to screen, diagnose and intervene in life-saving behavioral health issues.
This idea is based on an integrated care model, which is an approach to healthcare characterized by collaboration and communication between different healthcare professionals.
Healthy Minds will present at an interim study from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday on Oklahoma’s behavioral health workforce.
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