Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate Committee Substitute, No. 704 (May 16, 2022)

Summary

The Senate Commerce Committee of the State of New Jersey, in a statement dated May 16, 2022, reports favorably the Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 704. The substitute bars mental health care professionals from disclosing mental health notes to health insurance carriers or health care payers. A professional who gives a patient a copy of the notes on request must include a statement that the notes are confidential and excluded from information provided to carriers and payers. "Mental health notes" means notes documenting or analyzing a counseling session that are kept apart from the rest of the medical record, and excludes items such as medication prescription and monitoring and results of clinical tests.

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SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR

SENATE, No.
704

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MAY 16,
2022

The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably the
Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 704.

This committee substitute prohibits mental health care
professionals from disclosing mental health notes to health insurance carriers
or health care payers. The bill also requires a mental health care
professional that provides a copy of mental health notes to a patient upon the
patient’s request to include a statement that the mental health notes are
confidential and excluded from information required to be provided to health
insurance carriers and health care payers.

Under the bill, “mental health notes” means notes
recorded, in any medium, by a mental health care professional documenting or
analyzing the contents of conversation during a private counseling session or a
group, joint, or family counseling session and that are separated from the rest
of the covered person’s medical record. “Mental health notes” shall not include
medication prescription and monitoring, counseling session start and stop
times, the modalities and frequencies of treatment furnished, results of
clinical tests, and any summary of the following items: diagnosis, functional
status, the treatment plan, symptoms, prognosis, and progress to date.

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