AN ACT relating to coverage of annual mental health wellness examinations.

Create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to define terms; require certain health insurance policies to provide coverage for an annual mental health wellness examination; require the coverage to be no less extensive than coverage for medical and surgical benefits, comply with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, and not to be subject to any cost-sharing requirements; amend KRS 164.2871, 205.522, 205.6485, and 18A.225 to require self-insured employer group health plans provided by the governing board of a state postsecondary education institution, Medicaid, the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program, and the state employee health plan to comply with the mental health coverage requirement; amend KRS 304.17C-125 to apply the mental health wellness examination requirement to limited health service contracts; state purpose of the Act; direct that provisions apply to health plans issued or renewed on or after the effective date of the section; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to seek federal approval if it determines that such approval is necessary; provide that Section 1 may be cited as the Kentucky Act in Support of Annual Mental Health Wellness Exams; EFFECTIVE, in part, January 1, 2026.