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HA1TOSB22 • 2025

This Amendment to Senate Bill No.

This Amendment to Senate Bill No.

Children
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Minor-Brown
Last action
2026-06-09
Official status
Passed 6/9/26
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is not provided in the official source material.

Amendment Defining Serious Mental Illness in Health Plans

This amendment defines 'serious mental illness' by listing specific disorder categories and allows insurance companies to require approval steps for other mental health conditions not included in that list.

What This Bill Does

  • Defines serious mental illness as a group of disorders including neurodevelopmental, psychotic, bipolar, depressive, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, trauma-related, dissociative, somatic symptom, eating, personality, and disruptive impulse-control or conduct disorders.
  • Requires using the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to determine if someone has a serious mental illness.
  • Allows insurance carriers to require precertification, prior authorization, pre-admission screening, or referral for mental health care that is not classified as a serious mental illness or substance use disorder.
  • Clarifies that this law does not stop approval requirements from being used on other types of mental health benefits.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Insurance carriers and companies selling health benefit plans
  • People who receive coverage under these health plans for mental health care

Terms To Know

Serious Mental Illness
A specific group of disorders listed in the law, including neurodevelopmental, psychotic, bipolar, depressive, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, trauma-related, dissociative, somatic symptom, eating, personality, and disruptive impulse-control or conduct disorders.
Prior Authorization
A rule where an insurance company must approve a treatment before it happens to pay for it.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The official text does not state when this law officially takes effect.
  • The bill defines the rules only for 'serious mental illness' and leaves other conditions subject to different approval steps without listing those specific non-serious conditions in detail.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-09 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Placed With Bill

  2. 2026-06-09 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed In House by Voice Vote

Official Summary Text

This Amendment to Senate Bill No. 22 defines “serious mental illness” and allows carriers to impose precertification, prior authorization, pre-admission screening, or referral requirements for mental health disorders that are not serious mental illnesses or substance use disorders.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Minor-Brown & Rep. K. Johnson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1

TO

SENATE BILL NO. 22

AMEND Senate Bill No. 22 by inserting the following after line 61 and before line 62:

“

( ) “Serious mental illness” means any of the following mental health disorders: neurodevelopmental disorders; schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders; bipolar and related disorders; depressive disorders; anxiety disorders; obsessive-compulsive and related disorders; trauma- and stressor-related disorders; dissociative disorders; somatic symptom and related disorders; feeding and eating disorders; personality disorders; and disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders. The diagnostic criteria set out in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders must be utilized to determine whether a beneficiary of a health benefit plan has a serious mental illness.

”.

FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 22 on line 185 by deleting “

mental health disorders

” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “

serious mental illnesses

”.

FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 22 on line 186 by inserting after “section.” as it appears therein “

No other provision of this section may be construed to expand the prohibition in this paragraph to mental health disorder benefits not subject to this paragraph.

”.

FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 22 by inserting the following after line 575 and before line 576:

“

( ) “Serious mental illness” means any of the following mental health disorders: neurodevelopmental disorders; schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders; bipolar and related disorders; depressive disorders; anxiety disorders; obsessive-compulsive and related disorders; trauma- and stressor-related disorders; dissociative disorders; somatic symptom and related disorders; feeding and eating disorders; personality disorders; and disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders. The diagnostic criteria set out in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders must be utilized to determine whether a beneficiary of a health benefit plan has a serious mental illness.

”.

FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No. 22 by striking lines 686 and 687 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“referral requirements for the diagnosis and medically necessary

treatment,

services of serious mental illnesses or substance use disorders,

including in-patient

treatment, of drug and alcohol dependencies.

treatment. Nothing in § 3571U of this title may be construed to expand the prohibition in this paragraph to mental health disorder benefits not subject to this paragraph.

”.

SYNOPSIS

This Amendment to Senate Bill No. 22 defines “serious mental illness” and allows carriers to impose precertification, prior authorization, pre-admission screening, or referral requirements for mental health disorders that are not serious mental illnesses or substance use disorders.