Requires that reimbursement rates for certified mobile response and stabilization services be equal to or greater than the prevailing integrated state Medicaid rate for mobile response and stabilizations services

Plain-English Summary

This bill would require private health insurance companies in Rhode Island to pay for mobile response and stabilization services at rates that are at least as high as what the state's Medicaid program pays for those same services. Mobile response and stabilization services are mental health crisis teams that come to a person's location — rather than requiring them to go to a hospital or emergency room — to help people experiencing a behavioral health or mental health crisis.

The bill is designed to ensure that providers who offer these mobile crisis services receive fair and consistent payment when their patients have private insurance. Currently, private insurers may reimburse these services at lower rates than Medicaid does, which could discourage providers from accepting private insurance or offering these services more broadly. By setting the Medicaid rate as a minimum floor, the bill aims to make it financially viable for more providers to deliver this type of care.

This bill would primarily affect private health insurance companies, certified mobile response and stabilization service providers, and Rhode Islanders who experience mental health or behavioral health crises. People with private insurance who need these services could potentially benefit from greater availability of providers willing to respond to their calls. Insurance companies would be required to adjust their payment practices if their current rates fall below the Medicaid benchmark.

The bill was introduced in the Rhode Island Senate and referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, which has recommended it be held for further study. A hearing was scheduled for March 2026, meaning it is still in the early stages of the legislative process and has not yet become law.