Rutigliano & Hwang Hail New Mental Health State Web Site

TRUMBULL- As members of the General Assembly’s Insurance and Real Estate committee both State Reps. Tony Hwang (R-134) and David Rutigliano (R-123) are triumphing a new state web page that streamlines resources to help families with insurance coverage and reimbursement for behavioral health and substance abuse treatment.

The Insurance Department’s “Mental Health Parity” Web page is a compilation of free resources, publications and tools that consumers can easily access through the Insurance Department’s Web site.

Both Hwang and Rutigliano worked in the Insurance committee this past legislative session to bring better mental health parity and more protections for consumers.

Rep. Rutigliano said, “This legislation requires insurers to tell consumers how they came up with any decision to deny services and creates a more “standardized criteria for determining what treatment qualifies as medically necessary. Adding this new level of transparency is key for families looking for services.”

“The goal of this web site will ease the many barriers families with mental health issues are forced to face on a daily basis navigating the healthcare insurance system. I have advocated on behalf of families to understand their rights as consumers and to make sure their mental illnesses and behavioral health concerns are treated the same way as other medical conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes,” said Rep. Hwang.

The new site includes the Insurance Department’s Behavioral Health Took Kit, a step-by-step plain-language template that families and providers can use to submit to insurance companies for preauthorization of medically necessary behavioral health services. The Tool Kit was launched in October, the same time the state announced it was dedicating $9 million in federal funds to address the needs of children in schools.

For more information on the new Web page visit the CID Web site.