Requires insurance coverage for child and family treatment and support services and children's home and community based services

• Democratic4

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Michelle Hinchey says this is needed

New York's Medicaid Plan offers robust behavioral health services for children and families. Child and Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS) and Children's Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) are two critical treatment options for children experiencing a behavioral health issue. CFTSS and HCBS are unique in that they meet young people and families where they are - in their homes and in their communities. They provide treatment and supports for the youth, and more importantly, offer modalities that serve the family and caregiving unit. The services reach people earlier on in the service continuum, providing treatments up front, often leading to better outcomes, avoiding crisis visits to hospitals and emergency rooms, and ultimately saving money for the patient, state, and healthcare system. CFTSS and HCBS services are readily available in the state's Medicaid Plan, and more recently were added to the Child Health Plus Plan (CHP) in 2022. This is of course a great benefit to those with Medicaid and CHP cover- age, and there is signifiCant'deMand for these Services that is, greatly Outpacing systeM capacity. : Sadly, commercial health plans, intlUding'eMployer sponsOred and individual health plans, thatMAny NewYorkerS:find theii coverage thrOughi are not proViding'similatCoverage, ThiS leaves many faMilies and caregivers without access to these'critical community-based services simply because Of the health benefits card in their pocket Indeed, it has created two- tiered system for access to care that has perpetUated, Mental health disparities in a time of crisis where treatment is desperately needed. To ensure broad access to CFTSS and HCBS services, this bill would clar- ify that commercial health insurance policies are required to cover these two services: This action would more closely align commercial behavioral health' benefits with those 'of Medicaid. It would further ensure that health plans are in compliance with federal mental health parity coverage requirements. This legislation is intended to comport with the coverage outlined in New York's Essential Health Benefits Pack- age (Benchmark Plan) and is not intended to create a new mandated health benefit.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.