Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 365 (2025GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Barlow, Stewart E.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/26/2025

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a request for proposals to conduct a study on wait times and barriers for a child to see a therapist.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

5
26B-5-613
0
Mental Health Care Study Amendments
2025 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Stewart E. Barlow
Senate Sponsor: Jen Plumb
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a request for 
proposals to conduct a study.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a request for proposals to 
conduct a study on wait times and barriers for a child to see a therapist. 
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
ENACTS:
26B-5-613
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1, Section 
26B-5-613
 is enacted to read:
26B-5-613
. Mental health access study.
(1)
The department shall issue a request for proposals for a person to conduct a 
comprehensive study of wait times and barriers to accessing pediatric mental health care 
in Utah, which shall:
(a)
measure and analyze the average time between a child's initial referral to a mental 
health appointment and the date of the first available appointment;
(b)
identify factors affecting wait times, including:
(i)
geographic location;
(ii)
insurance type;
(iii)
provider availability;
(iv)
specialty care needs; and
(v)
other relevant barriers to access;
(c)
compare wait times across different:
(i)
geographic regions of the state;
(ii)
types of mental health providers;
(iii)
practice settings; and
(iv)
payment models;
(d)
include both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods; and
(e)
survey parents regarding experiences accessing care.
(2)
The person selected for the study shall:
(a)
develop appropriate methods to collect data while protecting patient privacy;
(b)
comply with all applicable state and federal privacy laws; and
(c)
ensure all data is deidentified before inclusion in any reports.
(3)
The person selected for the study shall submit to the Health and Human Services 
Interim Committee and the Behavioral Health Commission created Section 
26B-5-702
:
(a)
a preliminary report of findings before May 31, 2026; and
(b)
a final report, including policy recommendations, before May 31, 2027.
Section 2. 
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on 
May 7, 2025
.
3-7-25 11:35 AM