Before the Joint Committee on Financial
Services
The Massachusetts Medical Society wishes to be recorded in
strong support of H 1176. The language of this bill, if
enacted, will move us much closer to parity in the provision of
psychiatric services in the Commonwealth. We support the
efforts and concur with the testimony of the Massachusetts
Psychiatric Society and the Massachusetts College of Emergency
Physicians. These specialties encounter the discrimination
against psychiatric patients on a regular basis. This
legislation would require that psychopharmacological and
neuropsychological assessment services be treated in a manner
identical to all other services by insurers and the
Commonwealth. The legislation also requires that emergency
services be compensated even when the patient is covered under a
behavioral health carve out system. This again is an element
of parity.
Patients requiring mental health evaluations, treatment or
emergency evaluations should not suffer greater impediments to the
coverage of their medically necessary services than victims of an
accident, patients with hypertension or patients with any other
legitimate medical need. This legislation will allow the use
of standard evaluation and management codes by psychiatrists and
will cover emergency services. This is a reasonable and balanced
way to begin to implement parity
The MMS strongly supports this legislation and looks forward to
its quick advancement as a matter of fundamental fairness and
consistency with national mental health parity initiatives.
