DE Mandatory Coverage of Annual Behavioral Health Well Check

On January 25, 2024, the Delaware Department of Insurance issued a bulletin (No. 134) to remind all insurers in Delaware that beginning on January 1, 2024, insurers are required to cover annual behavioral health well checks.

A “behavioral health well check” is defined in the law as a pre-deductible annual visit with a licensed mental health clinician with, at minimum, a master’s level degree. The behavioral health well check visit must include but is not limited to a review of medical history, evaluation of adverse childhood experiences, use of a group of developmentally appropriate mental health screening tools, and may include anticipatory behavioral health guidance congruent with the patient’s stage of life using the diagnosis of “annual behavioral health well check.”

The annual behavioral health well check generally must be reimbursed at the same rate that such common procedural terminology codes are imbursed for the provision of other medical care.

29 Del.C. § 5215 »
Delaware Bulletin No. 134 »