Bill would let clinics bill Medicaid for supervised clinical interns to expand rural behavioral health

Representative Gregor presented House Bill 2947 as a measure to allow master's-level clinical behavioral health interns, while completing required supervised clinical hours under licensed therapists, to be treated as billable providers for Medicaid when performing field work through accredited programs. Gregor and an expert witness said the change would allow clinics to claim Medicaid reimbursement, with the clinic — not the intern — receiving payment and deciding whether any stipend or payment flows to the intern.

Kelly Roberts, introduced to the committee as a policy analyst with Healthy Minds and a licensed therapist, told lawmakers that the bill’s language targets accredited training programs as a limited pilot pool and cited a small number of in-state accredited programs as the initial placement pool. She also said four other states (Louisiana, Colorado, Minnesota and Virginia) have used Medicaid billing for similar intern placements.

Committee members pressed on supervision, liability and pay. Gregor and Roberts confirmed interns would work under the clinical supervision required by their training programs; clinics would bear professional-liability exposure because interns operate under clinic supervision. The sponsor said preliminary cost estimates were being developed and he would request a formal House fiscal impact; proponents offered an early year-one estimate and a broader multi-year range but emphasized that a formal fiscal note was pending.

After questions about scope and pilot design, the committee recorded a vote of 5 yays, 0 nays and reported the bill out of committee.