This bill amends various chapters of the General Laws to establish a requirement for health insurance policies to cover acute mental health crisis mobile response and stabilization services for children and youth aged 18 and younger. The new section, titled "Acute mental health crisis mobile response and stabilization services," defines these services as a behavioral health crisis intervention system that provides immediate de-escalation, stabilization, and follow-up care by certified providers. The bill outlines specific symptoms that may necessitate these services, including aggression, self-injury, trauma, acute depression or anxiety, challenges at school, suicidal or homicidal thoughts or behaviors, and extreme parent-child conflict.

Starting January 1, 2026, all individual or group health insurance contracts and medical expense policies delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the state must include coverage for these mobile response and stabilization services, consistent with the core components of the mobile crisis model and in accordance with the insurers' existing reimbursement, credentialing, and contracting processes. However, the bill specifies that this requirement does not apply to certain types of insurance coverage, including hospital confinement indemnity, disability income, accident-only policies, long-term care, Medicare supplement, limited benefit health, specified disease indemnity, and other limited benefit policies. The act aims to ensure timely access to necessary mental health interventions for eligible individuals.