An Act preserving access to treatment for patients with serious mental illnesses, the official text

	SECTION 1. Section 1 of Chapter 176O of the Massachusetts general laws is hereby amended by inserting the following new definition: -  
	“Serious mental illness,” any of the following conditions, as defined by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:  
	(1) Bipolar disorders, hypomanic, manic, depressive, and mixed.  
	(2) Childhood and adolescent depression.  
	(3) Major depressive disorders, single episode or recurrent.  
	(4) Obsessive-compulsive disorders.  
	(5) Paranoid personality disorder and other psychotic disorders.  
	(6) Schizo-affective disorders, bipolar or depressive.  
	(7) Schizophrenia. 
	(8) Post-traumatic stress disorder.  
	SECTION 2. Section 12A of said Chapter 176O is hereby further amended by inserting after subsection (g) the following new subsection:- 
	(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a carrier or utilization review organization shall not, with respect to a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of serious mental illness, impose a prior authorization requirement, step therapy protocol, or any other protocol that could restrict or delay the dispensing of the drug. 
	SECTION 3. Section 8 of Chapter 118E of the Massachusetts general laws is hereby amended by inserting therein the following new definition:- 
	i½. “Serious mental illness”,  any of the following conditions, as defined by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:  
	(1) Bipolar disorders, hypomanic, manic, depressive, and mixed.  
	(2) Childhood and adolescent depression.  
	(3) Major depressive disorders, single episode or recurrent.  
	(4) Obsessive-compulsive disorders.  
	(5) Paranoid personality disorder and other psychotic disorders.  
	(6) Schizo-affective disorders, bipolar or depressive.  
	(7) Schizophrenia. 
	(8) Post-traumatic stress disorder.  
	SECTION 4.  Section 51A of said chapter 118E is hereby further amended by inserting after subsection (f) the following new subsection: -   
	(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the division or an entity with which the division contracts to provide or manage health insurance benefits shall not, with respect to a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of serious mental illness, impose a prior authorization requirement, step therapy protocol, or any other protocol that could restrict or delay the dispensing of the drug.