The proposed bill, titled "The Protect Mental Health Act," aims to enhance mental health and substance use disorder coverage by mandating compliance with federal mental health parity laws. It requires health insurers to ensure that any cost-sharing requirements and treatment limitations for mental health and substance use disorder services align with the standards set forth in the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

Health insurers are required to collect and evaluate relevant data to assess the impact of nonquantitative treatment limitations on access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits compared to medical and surgical benefits. If disparities are identified, insurers must document their efforts to address these issues and ensure compliance with parity requirements within fifteen working days of a request from the commissioner.

Additionally, the bill stipulates that health insurers must provide meaningful benefits for mental health and substance use disorder services in every classification where medical and surgical benefits are offered. This includes a requirement for coverage of core treatments, which are defined as standard treatments or interventions indicated by generally accepted standards of mental health or substance use disorder care.

The act emphasizes that these requirements are supplementary to existing state and federal laws governing mental health coverage, ensuring that insurers maintain their obligations under all applicable regulations. The act will take effect upon passage.