September 26, 2020 —
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law aimed at requiring private health insurers to cover more mental health and drug addiction treatments.
State and federal laws already require health insurance companies to handle mental health treatments the same as physical health treatments.
But those laws don’t define what is medically necessary to determine which treatments get covered.
Advocates say private insurers often deny coverage for some treatments using their own restrictive definitions.
The California Association of Health Plans opposed the law, saying it recklessly defines medical necessity in a way that undermines providers. The new law takes effect Jan. 1.
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