Implementation Of New Mexico's 'No Behavioral Health Cost Sharing' Law: A Qualitative Study.

ABSTRACT: Out-of-pocket spending is a long-standing challenge for privately insured people. New Mexico passed the first US law prohibiting private insurers from applying cost sharing to behavioral health treatment, effective January 1, 2022. We examined the perceptions of key informants, including clinicians, insurers, and state officials, about implementing the No Behavioral Health Cost Sharing law to explore how it might affect downstream outcomes such as spending and access. The law was viewed favorably and implemented without much difficulty. Clinicians noted widespread positive impacts, particularly for those needing intensive treatment. However, they worried about workforce capacity and the exclusion of people covered under self-insured employer plans, which are exempt from state regulation un

SUBMITTER: Harris SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11884875 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature