Title: CHIP Mental Health and Addiction Parity Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
CHIP Mental Health and Addiction Parity Act
This bill requires Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plans to cover mental health and substance-use disorder services. Financial requirements and treatment limitations applicable to such services shall not differ from those applicable to other medical services under CHIP.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3053 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3053

   To amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to ensure access to 
  mental health and substance use disorder services for children and 
 pregnant women under the Children's Health Insurance Program, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 12, 2018

  Ms. Stabenow (for herself and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to ensure access to 
  mental health and substance use disorder services for children and 
 pregnant women under the Children's Health Insurance Program, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``CHIP Mental Health and Addiction 
Parity Act''.

SEC. 2. ENSURING ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER 
              SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND PREGNANT WOMEN UNDER THE 
              CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 2103(c)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1397cc(c)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
                    ``(E) Mental health services and substance use 
                disorder services (as defined in paragraph (5)).''.
    (b) Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services.--
            (1) In general.--Section 2103(c) of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 1397cc(c)) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and 
                (8) as paragraphs (6), (7), (8), and (9), respectively; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following 
                new paragraph:
            ``(5) Mental health and substance use disorder services.--
        Regardless of the election made by a State under subsection 
        (a), child health assistance for targeted low-income children 
        or pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income 
        pregnant women (as defined in section 2112(d)) shall--
                    ``(A) include coverage of mental health services 
                (including behavioral health treatment) necessary to 
                prevent, diagnose, and treat a broad range of mental 
                health symptoms and disorders, including substance use 
                disorders; and
                    ``(B) be delivered in a culturally and 
                linguistically appropriate manner.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Section 2103(a) of the Social Security Act (42 
                U.S.C. 1397cc(a)) is amended, in the matter before 
                paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraphs (5), (6), and 
                (7)'' and inserting ``paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and 
                (8)''.
                    (B) Section 2110(a) of the Social Security Act (42 
                U.S.C. 1397jj(a)) is amended--
                            (i) in paragraph (18), by striking 
                        ``substance abuse'' each place it appears and 
                        inserting ``substance use''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (19), by striking 
                        ``substance abuse'' and inserting ``substance 
                        use''.
                    (C) Section 2110(b)(5)(A)(i) of the Social Security 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 1397ee(b)(5)(A)(i)) is amended by 
                striking ``subsection (c)(5)'' and inserting 
                ``subsection (c)(6)''.
    (c) Assuring Access to Care.--Section 2102(a)(7)(B) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397bb(c)(2)) is amended by striking ``section 
2103(c)(5)'' and inserting ``paragraphs (5) and (6) of section 
2103(c)''.
    (d) Mental Health Services Parity.--Subparagraph (A) of paragraph 
(7) of section 2103(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397cc(c)) 
(as redesignated by subsection (b)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(A) In general.--A State child health plan shall 
                ensure that the financial requirements and treatment 
                limitations applicable to mental health and substance 
                use disorder services (as described in paragraph (5)) 
                provided under such plan comply with the requirements 
                of section 2726(a) of the Public Health Service Act in 
                the same manner as such requirements or limitations 
                apply to a group health plan under such section.''.
    (e) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the amendments 
        made by this section shall take effect with respect to child 
        health assistance and pregnancy-related assistance provided on 
        or after the date that is 1 year after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
            (2) Exception for state legislation.--In the case of a 
        State child health plan under title XXI of the Social Security 
        Act (or a waiver of such plan), which the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services determines requires State legislation in 
        order for the respective plan (or waiver) to meet any 
        requirement imposed by the amendments made by this section, the 
        respective plan (or waiver) shall not be regarded as failing to 
        comply with the requirements of such title solely on the basis 
        of its failure to meet such an additional requirement before 
        the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the 
        close of the first regular session of the State legislature 
        that begins after the date of enactment of this section. For 
        purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a State that 
        has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session 
        shall be considered to be a separate regular session of the 
        State legislature.
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