Child Therapy Amendments

11
31A-22-663
80-2-310
31A-22-663
80-2-310
2
Child Therapy Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Jennifer Dailey-Provost
Senate Sponsor: Luz Escamilla
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses continuity of mental health treatment and services for children in, and
leaving, the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
requires certain insurers to offer a single case agreement to allow certain children leaving
the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services (division) to receive mental
health treatment and services from the mental health therapist providing those services
while the child was in the custody of the division;
requires the division to, under certain circumstances:
determine whether a child entering the custody of the division has a mental health
therapist, and facilitate continuity of care for the child with that mental health
therapist; and
coordinate with a child's parent or guardian or the Department of Health and Human
Services
when a child leaves the custody of the division to facilitate continuity of
care for the child with the therapist that provided mental health treatment and
services while the child was in the custody of the division;
provides rulemaking authority; and
defines terms.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
ENACTS:
31A-22-663
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
80-2-310
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
31A-22-663
is enacted to read:
31A-22-663
. Continuity of mental health treatment and services for a child
leaving foster care.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
(i)
"Covered child" means an insured child who:
(A)
while in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services, was
receiving mental health treatment or services from a covered mental health
therapist; and
(B)
is no longer in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services.
(ii)
"Covered child" includes a covered child's parent or guardian acting on behalf of
the covered child.
(iii)
"Covered child" does not include an insured child who, while in the custody of
the Division of Child and Family Services, was receiving mental health treatment
or services from:
(A)
a residential treatment program, as that term is defined in Section
26B-2-101
;
(B)
a day treatment program or partial hospitalization program; or
(C)
any other facility that provides a level of care higher than traditional
outpatient services where mental health treatment or services are integrated
into the facility's specialized program of care.
(b)
"Covered insurer" means an insurer that offers a health benefit plan that includes
coverage for mental health treatment or services.
(c)
"Covered mental health therapist" means a mental health therapist who provides
mental health treatment and services to a covered child while the covered child is in
the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services.
(d)
"Insurer" means the same as that term is defined in Section
31A-22-634
.
(e)
"Insured child" means a child who is an enrollee in a covered insurer's health benefit
plan that offers health insurance that includes coverage for mental health treatment or
services.
(f)
"Mental health therapist" means a mental health therapist as that term is defined in
Section
58-60-102
.
(2)
A covered insurer shall, upon request of a covered child, offer a single case agreement
that allows a covered child to receive covered mental health treatment and services from
an out-of-network covered mental health therapist, if:
(a)
the covered child was in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services no
more than 90 days before the day on which the covered child requests the single case
agreement; and
(b)
the covered mental health therapist agrees to enter the single case agreement.
(3)
A covered insurer shall include in a single case agreement described in Subsection
(2)
:
(a)
a requirement that the covered insurer reimburse the out-of-network provider for the
covered mental health treatment and services at an in-network rate by the covered
insurer, subject to the member cost-sharing requirements imposed by the health
benefit plan;
(b)
a requirement that the covered insurer apply the same coinsurance, copayments, and
deductibles that would apply for the mental health treatment and services if the
mental health treatment and services were provided by a mental health therapist that
is a network provider;
(c)
any terms that a network provider is subject to under the health benefit plan; and
(d)
the length and scope of the single case agreement.
(4)
Nothing in this section may be construed to require a covered insurer to pay an
out-of-network covered mental health therapist for services that are not otherwise
covered under the covered child's health benefit plan.
(5)
A covered child shall:
(a)
request a single case agreement under Subsection
(2)
before the covered child
receives mental health treatment or services from the covered mental health therapist;
and
(b)
provide documentation with the request for a single case agreement under Subsection
(2)
:
(i)
that the covered child received mental health treatment from the covered mental
health therapist while in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services;
and
(ii)
of when the covered child left the custody of the Division of Child and Family
Services.
(6)
The commissioner may make rules in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
Administrative Rulemaking Act, to implement this section.
Section 2. Section
80-2-310
is enacted to read:
80-2-310
. Continuity of mental health treatment and services for a foster child.
(1)
As used in this section, "mental health therapist" means the same as that term is defined
in Section
58-60-102
.
(2)
When a child enters the custody of the division, the division shall:
(a)
determine whether the child has an existing relationship with a mental health
therapist;
(b)
if the child has an existing relationship with a mental health therapist, take steps to
facilitate continuity of the child's mental health care with the mental health therapist,
including by:
(i)
contacting the mental health therapist;
(ii)
facilitating the mental health therapist's enrollment as a Medicaid provider, if
applicable; or
(iii)
if the mental health therapist is or agrees to become enrolled as a Medicaid
provider, entering into a contract or agreement, including a single case agreement,
with the mental health therapist, at a rate not to exceed the Medicaid rate, to
provide mental health care to the child while the child is in the custody of the
division.
(3)
When a child leaves the custody of the division, the division shall take steps to facilitate
continuity of care with a mental health therapist providing mental health care to the child
while the child was in the custody of the division, including by:
(a)
with the consent of the mental health therapist, providing the name and contact
information of the mental health therapist to the child's parents or guardians;
(b)
coordinating with the department to continue the child's mental health care if the
child or child's parents or guardians are Medicaid-eligible; and
(c)
coordinating with the local mental health authority where the child resides to arrange
for continued provision of mental health services, where appropriate.
(4)
This section does not apply if a child in the custody of the division is placed in:
(a)
a residential treatment program, as that term is defined in Section
26B-2-101
;
(b)
a day treatment program or partial hospitalization program; or
(c)
any other facility that provides a level of care higher than traditional outpatient
services where mental health treatment or services are integrated into the facility's
specialized program of care.
(5)
The division shall make rules in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
Administrative Rulemaking Act, to implement this section.
Section 3.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
3-12-26 10:30 AM