# Maryland HB 0280: Health Insurance - Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders - Codification of Federal Requirements Maryland HB 0280, Health Insurance - Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders - Codification of Federal Requirements, is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2026-04-14 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 11) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0280-2026RS - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maryland HB 0280 - State: Maryland - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Health Insurance - Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders - Codification of Federal Requirements - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-09-16 - Last action: 2026-04-14, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 11 - Sponsors: no sponsor on record - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Health - Insurance, Classifications and Designations, Data -see also- Census; Demographics, Discrimination, Disparity, Ethics, Evaluations and Reviews, Federal Government, Health -see also- COVID19; EnvHlth; MedCon; etc., Health Insurance -see also- ACA; HMOs; MCOs, Health Maintenance Organizations -see also- Manage Care Orgs, Insurance Administration, Medical Conditions -see also- AIDS; COVID-19; rabies, Medical Treatments, Mental and Behavioral Health -see also- Aut; Cogn; Dev; etc., Nonprofit Organizations, Records -see also- Land Records; Vital Records, Rules and Regulations, Substance Abuse, Substance Abuse Treatment - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 2 (139 yes, 35 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Core mental health treatments must be covered: benefit, medium. The law defines mental health and substance use benefits. It also defines “core treatment” using accepted medical standards. Plans must offer meaningful benefits for each covered condition. If a core treatment exists, plans cover it in every benefit category where similar medical/surgical care is c… - Stronger enforcement of mental health parity: benefit, medium. The Commissioner reviews carrier reports and can demand analyses within 15 working days, or faster if federal rules require. If a carrier is not compliant, the Commissioner must give written notice and 90 days to submit a plan and reprocess wrongly denied claims. If problems remain, the Commissione… - Stronger mental health parity tests and reports: benefit, medium. Carriers must list all nonquantitative treatment limits for each benefit category (like in‑network, out‑of‑network, inpatient, outpatient, drugs, and emergency care). They must do written comparative analyses, compare rules on paper versus in practice, and collect data on how these limits affect ac… - You can request the parity analysis: benefit, medium. As a plan member, you can ask for the carrier’s comparative analysis for any treatment limit. The carrier must send it within 30 days of your written request, following federal parity disclosure rules. This right starts July 1, 2026. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - (none) ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-06 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 46 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 93 | 35 | 4 | ## Actions (13) - 2026-04-14: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 11 - 2026-04-07: Returned Passed (House) - 2026-04-06: Third Reading Passed (46-0) (Senate) - 2026-03-31: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (Senate) - 2026-03-30: Favorable Report by Finance (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Referred Finance (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Third Reading Passed (93-35) (House) - 2026-03-03: Second Reading Passed (House) - 2026-03-03: Favorable Adopted (House) - 2026-03-03: Favorable Report by Health (House) - 2026-01-20: Hearing 1/29 at 2:00 p.m. (House) - 2026-01-14: First Reading Health (House) - 2025-09-16: Pre-filed (House) ## Bill text - Enacted, 2026-04-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_11_hb0280t.pdf) - Third Reading, 2026-03-03: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0280t.pdf) - First Reading, 2026-01-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0280f.pdf) ## Related bills - SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law) - SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law) - SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law) - SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law) - SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law) - HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law) ## Sources - [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_11_hb0280t.pdf) - [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0280t.pdf) - [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0280f.pdf) ## Related - [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS) - [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS) - [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS) - [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS) - [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS) - [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS) - [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills) - [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0280-2026RS (as of 2026-10-19).