Illinois law requires insurance coverage for annual mental health assessments

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — A new state law requires the Illinois Department of Human Services to launch a public education campaign to bring awareness to the importance of mental health and wellness.

The plan will also allow people with most commercial insurance to have one free no-diagnosis mental health and wellness visit each year. Illinois is the third state in the country to implement such a plan.

Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago) said this can be critical to catch early-stage mental health symptoms. LaPointe, a former social worker, said this change can help Illinois work mental health access into the regular health care system.

"Maybe the idea of therapy is very overwhelming because we live in a society that severely stigmatizes mental health treatment," LaPointe said. "It's being able to just talk to your regular doctor about your mental health symptoms or maybe you do go to a social worker just for one mental health screening visit."

Patients needing further treatment will be able to get referrals to see mental health professionals in their insurance network. However, the free mental wellness visit would not apply to people with a health savings account.

Laura Minzer, President of the Illinois Life & Health Insurance Council, worked with LaPointe to include language to exempt patients with high deductibles eligible for an HSA.

"If the federal government doesn't recognize it as a preventive service, then we need to make sure that we include that language to exempt out those specific types of plans so that those people who do have high deductible health plants eligible for HSA can preserve the tax advantages that go with that," Minzer said. "You are paying up to the deductible."

House Republicans supported the intent of the plan, but Rep. Will Hauter (R-Morton) said he is concerned about how the law will be implemented. Hauter argued that this type of expansion could overwhelm the mental health care system.

"To now open this up as a free visit for self-diagnosed or no diagnosis, you just want to access your free visit every year," Hauter said. "Millions more people would have this ability. I just see this as a real problem getting people in and appointments for people who really need it."

House Bill 2847 passed unanimously out of the House and Senate this spring. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2024.