A new law in New Hampshire prohibits insurance companies from requiring members to receive prior authorization before obtaining coverage for emergency mental health or substance use care, according to an Aug. 23 report from New Hampshire Bulletin.
Senate Bill 85 allows patients to receive care from a mobile crisis team outside a licensed hospital without waiting for their insurance company's approval. The bill follows the recent additions of mobile crisis teams across the state.
Lawmakers spent $52.4 million to implement mobile crisis response in all 10 New Hampshire counties, as part of the state's expansion in 2022 that addressed the growing mental health and substance use crisis.
Despite the bipartisan bill clearing the Senate "fairly easily," Republicans on the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee wanted the bill to be shut down, fearing it would allow individuals to "self-declare" an emergency to get coverage and avoid pre-approval, according to the report.