Missouri Health Care Legislation Update

Health Care Law Practice Group

By Health Care Law Practice Group

MO HealthNet Program Expands Its Coverage:

  • Section 208.151 (20) RSMo was expanded to include language allowing pregnant women who receive substance abuse treatment within sixty (60) days of giving birth, subject to appropriations and any necessary federal approval, to be eligible for MO HealthNet benefits for substance abuse treatment and mental health services for the treatment of substance abuse for twelve (12) additional months, as long as the woman remains adherent with treatment.
  • With the passage of HB 1516, § 208.152(7), chiropractors are included in the MO HealthNet Program and now allows, . . . subject to appropriation, up to twenty (20) visits per year for services limited to examinations, diagnoses, adjustments, and manipulations and treatments of malpositioned articulations and structures of the body provided by licensed chiropractic physicians practicing within their scope of practice.

CEU Requirements Expanded:

  • As amended, § 324.046 RSMo provides that any Missouri licensed healthcare professional may annually complete training in the areas of “suicide assessment, referral, treatment and management,” which may qualify as part of the continuing education requirements of the professional’s licensing authority with the Division of Professional Registration for renewal of licenses.

Physician Collaboration Extends Coverage into Rural Areas:

  • SB 718 amended § 334.037 RSMo to increase the maximum distance advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) may practice from their collaborating physicians to seventy-five (75 miles and reduces the number of mid-level practitioners (assistant physicians, APRNs, and physician assistants) a physician may concurrently supervise from nine (9) to six (6).

Expanded Coverage of Mental Health Conditions:

  • SB 951 amended § 376.1550.2(4) RSMo to remove language excluding “chemical dependency” (the psychological or physiological dependence upon and abuse of drugs, including alcohol, characterized by drug tolerance or withdrawal and impairment of social or occupational role functioning or both) from the statutory definition of mental health conditions for which insurance coverage is required. This amendment effectively mandates coverage for addiction.

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