House to Pass Annual Mental Health Wellness Exam

The House just passed legislation that would require health insurance plans to cover an annual mental health examination. Colorado would be the first state in the United States to pass a bill such as this. This new legislation would require health insurance companies in Colorado to cover a mental health wellness exam in the same way that physical exams are covered.

This bill is considered to be under preventative healthcare services, the same a physicals, and will be implemented beginning January 1, 2022 for large employer plans that are implemented or renewed. It will then be applicable to small group, as well as individual plans that are implemented or renewed beginning January 2023.

HB21-1068 is a bill that is sponsored by Representatives Dafna Michaelson Jenet and Brianna Titone, who all stress the importance of this legislation. Much like any physical exam, these mental health examinations would be conducted by a qualified, mental health care provider, and will take no longer than 60 minutes to conduct. The coverage must also comply with the federal mental health parity law requirements.

Lastly, the exams’ coverage has to be comparable to other physical examinations and it would required that insurance plans cannot require copayments, deductibles, or coinsurance for these annual examinations.

The benefit to this legislation would be prevention of mental health crises for many Coloradans. Much like physical exams, there are warning signs for mental health conditions that can be detected during an annual check-up. Detecting these signs early on and getting individuals the help they need is much easier and safer than waiting for the individual to be in a mental health crisis.

This bill will help give Coloradans the tools they need to tackle challenges regarding mental health wellness, and guide them towards prevention of a crisis. This is a step toward emphasizing the importance of mental health in the same way physical health is valued in our society.