Report Title:
Social Anxiety Disorder
Description:
Requires insurers, mutual benefit societies, and HMOs that provide mental health benefits coverage, to provide additional coverage for social anxiety disorder.
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
229 |
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TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds and declares:
(1) Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) is the most common anxiety disorder affecting approximately 7.9 per cent of Americans annually with a lifetime prevalence of 13.3 per cent;
(2) Patients with social anxiety disorder are at a fourfold increased risk of developing depression, and are three times more likely to develop panic and two times more likely to suffer from alcoholism, as persons without the disorder;
(3) Patients with social anxiety disorder are twice as likely to attempt suicide as persons without the disorder; and
(4) Social anxiety disorder has been scientifically linked to reduced quality of life, lower education attainment, and impairment of professional advancement and wage earning ability.
SECTION 2. Chapter 431M, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§431M- Coverage for social anxiety disorder. (a) All individual and group accident and sickness insurance policies, individual or group hospital or medical service plan contracts, and nonprofit mutual benefit association and health maintenance organization health plan contracts issued or renewed in this State after December 31, 2001, that provide mental health benefits coverage shall include coverage for medically necessary treatment of social anxiety disorder. Any provision in any individual and group accident and sickness insurance policy, individual or group hospital or medical service plan contracts, and nonprofit mutual benefit association and health maintenance organization health plan contracts issued, amended, delivered, or renewed after December 31, 2001, that is in conflict with this section shall be invalid.
(b) As used in this section, "social anxiety disorder" means a condition that meets the criteria for generalized social phobia set forth in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, of the American Psychiatric Association."
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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