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S3065AHealth Insurance

Insurance - Accident and Sickness Insurance Policies

This bill expands mandated health insurance coverage for mobile mental health crisis services to young adults up to age 21.

Introduced73 Yea0 Nay2 Not voting
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 12, 2026Committee Senate Health & Human Services

Plain-English Summary

This bill requires health insurance companies to cover mobile response and stabilization services for children and young adults up to age 21 who are experiencing acute mental health crises. Previously, this coverage was only mandated for youth up to age 18. It also requires that these services be provided by licensed behavioral health organizations rather than just certified ones. Furthermore, starting in October 2026, insurance companies must pay these licensed providers at rates that are at least equal to the state's Medicaid rates for the same services.

For younger readers

Sometimes kids and young adults go through really tough times with their feelings and need help right away. This bill makes a rule that health insurance companies have to pay for special helpers to go to kids and young adults up to 21 years old when they are having a mental health emergency. Before, this only helped kids up to 18. It also makes sure these helpers have the right official licenses to do their jobs and that the insurance companies pay them a fair amount of money for their hard work.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Children and young adultsParents and familiesHealth insurance companiesLicensed behavioral health organizationsMental health crisis responders
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Expands critical mental healthcare access by raising the age limit for mandated mobile crisis response coverage from 18 to 21, helping vulnerable young adults transition into adulthood.
  • Mandates that insurance companies reimburse providers at rates equal to or greater than state Medicaid rates, ensuring behavioral health professionals are fairly compensated and incentivizing the availability of care.
  • Strengthens the community safety net by ensuring immediate, specialized crisis intervention for young people, which can prevent unnecessary hospitalizations or harmful interactions with law enforcement during mental health emergencies.
  • Limits the mandated coverage expansion to young adults up to age 21, leaving older adults without guaranteed access to these vital mobile crisis response services.
  • Exempts several types of insurance policies, such as limited benefit health plans, which could leave marginalized individuals with lower-tier insurance without coverage for mental health emergencies.
  • Restricts the definition of providers from "certified" to strictly "licensed," which could inadvertently reduce the pool of available crisis responders by excluding certified peer support specialists or community health workers.
For Conservatives
  • Supports families dealing with extreme parent-child conflict or a child's aggressive behavior by ensuring they have access to immediate, professional intervention.
  • Improves quality control and professional standards by requiring crisis responders to be fully licensed by the state rather than merely holding a certification.
  • Encourages early intervention and stabilization, which can prevent much more expensive emergency room visits or long-term hospitalizations, potentially lowering overall healthcare costs.
  • Imposes new government mandates on private health insurance companies, forcing them to expand coverage to young adults up to age 21 and dictating what services they must provide.
  • Institutes government price controls by forcing private insurers to reimburse providers at rates equal to or greater than state Medicaid rates, violating free-market principles.
  • Likely increases the operational costs for insurance companies through expanded coverage and minimum reimbursement rates, which could result in higher insurance premiums for businesses and individuals.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

2 versions
Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 40 additions · 20 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 27-18-95 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-18 entitled "Accident and Sickness Insurance Policies" is hereby amended to read as follows: 27-18-95. Acute mental health crisis mobile response and stabilization services. [Effective January 1, 2026.]

(a) As used in this section, “mobile response and stabilization services” means a behavioral health crisis intervention system providing immediate de-escalation, stabilization services, and follow-up care, provided by a certified licensed provider. These services are delivered to provide rapid response to, assessment of, and early intervention for a child or youth eighteen (18) years of age and younger children and youth up to the age of twenty-one (21) experiencing an acute mental health crisis. Symptoms might include, but are not limited to:

(1) Aggression;

(2) Self-injury;

(3) Trauma;

(4) Acute depression/anxiety;

(5) Challenges at school; Suicidal or homicidal thoughts/behaviors; and

(6) Extreme parent/child conflict. Mobile response and stabilization services are provided by “certified licensed providers” meaning licensed behavioral health organizations providing outpatient services, which have demonstrated expertise in delivering child-specific mobile response and stabilization services, and have obtained relevant state licensure or certification.

(b) Every individual or group health insurance contract, or every individual or group hospital or medical expense insurance policy, plan, or group policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2026, shall provide coverage for mobile response and stabilization services, consistent with the core components of the mobile crisis model, and in accordance with the insurer’s existing reimbursement, credentialing, and contracting processes, provided any utilization review processes do not limit timely access or fidelity to the model.

(c) This section shall not apply to insurance coverage providing benefits for:

(1) Hospital confinement indemnity;

(2) Disability income;

(3) Accident only;

(4) Long-term care;

(5) Medicare supplement;

(6) Limited benefit health;

(7) Specified disease indemnity;

(8) Sickness or bodily injury or death by accident or both; and

(9) Other limited benefit policies.

(d) Insurers shall reimburse licensed providers for mobile response and stabilization services as defined in this section at rates of reimbursement equal to or greater than the prevailing integrated state Medicaid rate for mobile response and stabilization services on or after October 1, 2026, using the state Medicaid payment methodology as established by the executive office of health and human services.

SECTION 2. Section 27-19-87 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-19 entitled "Nonprofit Hospital Service Corporations" is hereby amended to read as follows: 27-19-87. Acute mental health crisis mobile response and stabilization services. [Effective January 1, 2026.]

(a) As used in this section, “mobile response and stabilization services” means a behavioral health crisis intervention system providing immediate de-escalation, stabilization services, and follow-up care, provided by a certified licensed provider. These services are delivered to provide rapid response to, assessment of, and early intervention for a child or youth eighteen (18) years of age and younger children and youth up to the age of twenty-one (21) experiencing an acute mental health crisis. Symptoms might include, but are not limited to:

(1) Aggression;

(2) Self-injury;

(3) Trauma;

(4) Acute depression/anxiety;

(5) Challenges at school; Suicidal or homicidal thoughts/behaviors; and

(6) Extreme parent/child conflict. Mobile response and stabilization services are provided by “certified licensed providers” meaning licensed behavioral health organizations providing outpatient services, which have demonstrated expertise in delivering child-specific mobile response and stabilization services, and have obtained relevant state licensure or certification.

(b) Every individual or group health insurance contract, or every individual or group hospital or medical expense insurance policy, plan, or group policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2026, shall provide coverage for mobile response and stabilization services, consistent with the core components of the mobile crisis model, and in accordance with the insurer’s existing reimbursement, credentialing, and contracting processes, provided any utilization review processes do not limit timely access or fidelity to the model.

(c) This section shall not apply to insurance coverage providing benefits for:

(1) Hospital confinement indemnity;

(2) Disability income;

(3) Accident only;

(4) Long-term care;

(5) Medicare supplement;

(6) Limited benefit health;

(7) Specified disease indemnity;

(8) Sickness or bodily injury or death by accident or both; and

(9) Other limited benefit policies.

(d) Insurers shall reimburse licensed providers for mobile response and stabilization services as defined in this section at rates of reimbursement equal to or greater than the prevailing integrated state Medicaid rate for mobile response and stabilization services on or after October 1, 2026, using the state Medicaid payment methodology as established by the executive office of health and human services.

SECTION 3. Section 27-20-83 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-20 entitled "Nonprofit Medical Service Corporations" is hereby amended to read as follows: 27-20-83. Acute mental health crisis mobile response and stabilization services. [Effective January 1, 2026.]

(a) As used in this section, “mobile response and stabilization services” means a behavioral health crisis intervention system providing immediate de-escalation, stabilization services, and follow-up care, provided by a certified licensed provider. These services are delivered to provide rapid response to, assessment of, and early intervention for a child or youth eighteen (18) years of age and younger children and youth up to the age of twenty-one (21) experiencing an acute mental health crisis. Symptoms might include, but are not limited to:

(1) Aggression;

(2) Self-injury;

(3) Trauma;

(4) Acute depression/anxiety;

(5) Challenges at school; Suicidal or homicidal thoughts/behaviors; and

(6) Extreme parent/child conflict. Mobile response and stabilization services are provided by “certified licensed providers” meaning licensed behavioral health organizations providing outpatient services, which have demonstrated expertise in delivering child-specific mobile response and stabilization services, and have obtained relevant state licensure or certification.

(b) Every individual or group health insurance contract, or every individual or group hospital or medical expense insurance policy, plan, or group policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2026, shall provide coverage for mobile response and stabilization services, consistent with the core components of the mobile crisis model, and in accordance with the insurer’s existing reimbursement, credentialing, and contracting processes, provided any utilization review processes do not limit timely access or fidelity to the model.

(c) This section shall not apply to insurance coverage providing benefits for:

(1) Hospital confinement indemnity;

(2) Disability income;

(3) Accident only;

(4) Long-term care;

(5) Medicare supplement;

(6) Limited benefit health;

(7) Specified disease indemnity;

(8) Sickness or bodily injury or death by accident or both; and

(9) Other limited benefit policies.

(d) Insurers shall reimburse licensed providers for mobile response and stabilization services as defined in this section at rates of reimbursement equal to or greater than the prevailing integrated state Medicaid rate for mobile response and stabilization services on or after October 1, 2026, using the state Medicaid payment methodology as established by the executive office of health and human services.

SECTION 4. Section 27-41-100 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-41 entitled "Health Maintenance Organizations" is hereby amended to read as follows: 27-41-100. Acute mental health crisis mobile response and stabilization services. [Effective January 1, 2026.]

(a) As used in this section, “mobile response and stabilization services” means a behavioral health crisis intervention system providing immediate de-escalation, stabilization services, and follow-up care, provided by a certified licensed provider. These services are delivered to provide rapid response to, assessment of, and early intervention for a child or youth eighteen (18) years of age and younger children and youth up to the age of twenty-one (21) experiencing an acute mental health crisis. Symptoms might include, but are not limited to:

(1) Aggression;

(2) Self-injury;

(3) Trauma;

(4) Acute depression/anxiety;

(5) Challenges at school; Suicidal or homicidal thoughts/behaviors; and

(6) Extreme parent/child conflict. Mobile response and stabilization services are provided by “certified licensed providers” meaning licensed behavioral health organizations providing outpatient services, which have demonstrated expertise in delivering child-specific mobile response and stabilization services, and have obtained relevant state licensure or certification.

(b) Every individual or group health insurance contract, or every individual or group hospital or medical expense insurance policy, plan, or group policy delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2026, shall provide coverage for mobile response and stabilization services, consistent with the core components of the mobile crisis model, and in accordance with the insurer’s existing reimbursement, credentialing, and contracting processes, provided any utilization review processes do not limit timely access or fidelity to the model.

(c) This section shall not apply to insurance coverage providing benefits for:

(1) Hospital confinement indemnity;

(2) Disability income;

(3) Accident only;

(4) Long-term care;

(5) Medicare supplement;

(6) Limited benefit health;

(7) Specified disease indemnity;

(8) Sickness or bodily injury or death by accident or both; and

(9) Other limited benefit policies.

(d) Insurers shall reimburse licensed providers for mobile response and stabilization services as defined in this section at rates of reimbursement equal to or greater than the prevailing integrated state Medicaid rate for mobile response and stabilization services on or after October 1, 2026, using the state Medicaid payment methodology as established by the executive office of health and human services.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon passage.