Healthcare

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 216 to define terms; establish fundamental rights relating to fertility treatment; prohibit the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying, burdening, or infringing on those rights unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means; prohibit the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from discriminating in the protection or enforcement of those rights; create a civil cause of action against a state or local official who violates those rights.

Amend KRS 210.040 to replace the term "institutions" with "facilities"; establish that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services is responsible to provide care that includes emergency and other medical care provided outside of a state facility for patients in state-operated mental health facilities.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 309 to define terms; establish a licensing board for professional music therapists; require 3 members of the board to have engaged in the practice or teaching of music therapy for at least 3 years; prohibit any persons not licensed by the board from holding himself or herself out as a licensed professional music therapist; authorize the board to promulgate administrative regulations; authorize the board to issue a license to practice music therapy; establish the process for license renewal, suspension, and revocation; establish fees for licensure; establish fee limitations; authorize the board to implement disciplinary actions; require a licensed professional music therapist to collaborate with a client's physician or other professional involved in the treatment of the client; require a licensed professional music therapist to collaborate with a client's mental health or substance use disorder professional involved in the treatment of the client; prohibit a licensed professional music therapist from replacing services provided by an audiologist or a speech-language pathologist; create the Kentucky Board of Licensure for Professional Music Therapists fund; establish a fine for violations; provide for initial board appointments.

Amend KRS 194A.601 to require the dementia services coordinator to prepare an annual report on the operations of the Office of Dementia Services and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Council and a progress report on the Kentucky Alzheimer's and Related Dementias State Plan to submit to the Legislative Research Commission; amend KRS 194A.603 to increase the membership of the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Council from 15 to 16 by increasing the individual unpaid caregiver members by 1; change the council's annual reporting date to December 1 from July 1; require the council to develop and implement annual year-long initiative advancing a key area of the state plan; direct the council to create a provider toolkit on early detection and diagnosis as its first year-long initiative beginning December 1, 2026 to be distributed to stakeholders.

Amend KRS 218B.010 to add additional qualifying medical conditions for the use of medicinal cannabis; amend KRS 218B.025 to exempt medicinal cannabis resulting from at-home cultivation activities from possession limits and from the requirement that medicinal cannabis be kept in the original container received from a dispensary; amend KRS 218B.030 to conform; amend KRS 218B.035 to permit the use or consumption of medicinal cannabis by smoking while located on private property owned by the cardholder; amend KRS 218B.140 to remove the requirement that raw plant material packaged or sold in the state be marked or labeled as "not intended for consumption by smoking"; create a new section of KRS Chapter 218B to permit registered qualified patients who are at least 18 years of age and designated caregivers to possess, cultivate, and harvest up to 3 mature medicinal cannabis plants and 3 seedlings on private property owned by the cardholder.

Create a new section of KRS 311.710 to 311.820 to define terms; establish privacy protections for a woman seeking reproductive health care outside of the Commonwealth; establish protections for any person or entity assisting a woman seeking reproductive health care outside of the Commonwealth; establish a civil cause of action for violations; waive sovereign immunity protections of the Commonwealth.

Amend KRS 304.17A-164 to define terms; prohibit insurers and administrators from requiring insureds to pay cost sharing for a prescription drug that is greater than the cash price; require insurers and administrators to count the amount paid for a covered prescription drug towards the insured's cost-sharing if certain requirements are met; establish requirements for insurers, administrators, and pharmacies for submission of cash price paid by an insured; exempt a state employee health plan from counting third-party payments unless a cash price was paid that is less than the plan's negotiated price; provide for construction of cost-sharing requirements; amend KRS 304.17C-125, 304.38A-115, 164.2871, and 18A.225 to apply cost-sharing requirements to limited health plans, self-insured state postsecondary education institution employer group health plans, and the state employee health plan; create a new section of KRS Chapter 315 to require pharmacies to comply with cost-sharing requirements; provide that cost-sharing requirements apply to health plans issued or renewed on or after effective date; EFFECTIVE, January 1, 2027.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 360 to define "medical debt"; establish a maximum interest rate of 3% on medical debt; amend KRS 360.020 to expand the civil penalty for excessive interest on medical debt; amend KRS 360.040 to establish a maximum interest rate of 3% on judgments rendered in an action to collect medical debt; make technical amendments; amend KRS 216B.250 to conform.

Amend KRS 202A.011 to define "benefit from treatment," "individual with a mental illness," and "severe mental illness"; remove "mentally ill person" and redefine "danger"; amend KRS 202A.028 to allow the Commonwealth to file an emergency motion to be heard within 48 hours regarding the hospitalization of an individual with a mental illness who has been found by a qualified mental health professional to not meet the criteria for involuntary hospitalization; amend KRS 202A.051 to allow a court to order a respondent to participate in outpatient psychiatric treatment; allow a court to require a hospital to notify the court and the Commonwealth if the hospital releases a person who is hospitalized; allow a court to order a person released from hospitalization to participate in outpatient psychiatric treatment; require that any petition filed under this section to expire in 30 days if it has not been served on the respondent; amend KRS 202A.061 to allow the Commonwealth to file an emergency motion to be heard within 48 hours regarding the hospitalization of an individual with a mental illness who has been found by a qualified mental health professional to not meet the criteria for involuntary hospitalization; create new sections of KRS Chapter 202A to require the court to appoint an outpatient provider for every person who is ordered to community-based outpatient treatment; require a multidisciplinary team to regularly monitor a person's adherence to community-based outpatient treatment; allow a court or an authorized staff physician to order a 72 hour emergency admission to a hospital for every person who fails to comply with an order for community-based outpatient treatment; require the court to conduct a review hearing no later than 72 hours prior to the expiration or request for early release by a hospital of a period of involuntary hospitalization for individuals who have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness and within the past 12 months been involuntarily committed to a hospital setting or have been found incompetent to stand trial within the past 12 months; amend KRS 202A.0819 to allow a court to order a person who is receiving assisted outpatient treatment to comply with any other reasonable conditions; amend KRS 202A.0823 to allow a court to determine if a person should be ordered to receive specific care in line with his or her treatment plan; amend KRS 202A.091 to allow a petitioner who qualifies as a responsible party under KRS 311.631 to participate in an involuntary hospitalization proceeding and receive the respondent's discharge plan; amend KRS 202A.101 to allow a person to be transported to a hospital without a copy of the petition for involuntary hospitalization when a court orders it under KRS 202A.028 and 202A.061; amend KRS 202C.010 to amend the definition of "evidentiary hearing"; amend "individual with a mental illness" and remove "mentally ill person"; amend KRS 202C.020 to establish the duties and pay for the guardian ad litem in a 202C proceeding; amend KRS 202C.030 to extend the date of the evidentiary hearing from 20 to 45 days, unless the court orders a later hearing date for good cause shown; prohibit the respondent from using the insanity defense; amend KRS 202C.040 to extend the date of the commitment hearing from 20 to 45 days, unless the court orders a later hearing date for good cause shown; establish the duties of the guardian ad litem; amend KRS 202C.050 to remove criteria to be committed under this chapter; amend KRS 202C.060 to provide that after the initial standard review hearing, subsequent review hearings shall occur once every 2 years unless a material change has occurred; require competency evaluations to be conducted at least once every 2 years; amend KRS 202C.130 to include notice of motions filed by forensic psychiatric facilities to the Commonwealth and all other parties of record; amend various sections to conform; repeal KRS 202A.081, relating to court-ordered community-based outpatient treatment.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 216B to require each hospital licensed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to establish policies and procedures to improve care for sickle cell disease patients, develop programs to prevent and address addiction risks for sickle cell disease patients, and provide patients with education and resources by January 1, 2027.