North Carolina 2025 Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 16 D · 5 R · 1 I cosponsors

HB 634 — Parity Enhancement for Addiction Recovery.

Last action — Serial Referral To Finance Stricken

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced March 31, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 22 sponsors

    3 primary, 19 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 3 parties (16 D · 5 R · 1 I) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

101 added · 99 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of House Bill 634 introduces a requirement for insurers to consistently apply clinical review criteria for mental health conditions, including substance use disorders, on par with non-mental health conditions. Additionally, it specifies that medical necessity determinations for substance use disorders must now rely solely on the latest American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria, rather than previous guidelines. These changes are important because they aim to enhance fairness and ensure that mental health care receives the same level of consideration and rigor as other medical treatments, potentially improving access to necessary services for individuals facing these challenges.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA H.B.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 1 HOUSE BILL 634 Short Title:
634 Mar 31, 2025 SESSION 2025 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK H D HOUSE BILL DRH40297-MR-81 Short Title:
Representative T.
Representatives T.
Brown.
Brown, White, Alston, and Huneycutt (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO UPDATE BY CONFORMING TO FEDERAL LAW THE LAWS RELATED TO HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE AND TO ENHANCE COVERAGE PARITY FOR ADDICTION RECOVERY.
Health, if favorable, Insurance, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House April 2, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO UPDATE BY CONFORMING TO FEDERAL LAW THE LAWS RELATED TO HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE AND TO ENHANCE COVERAGE PARITY FOR ADDICTION RECOVERY.
(a) Mental Health Equity Requirement.
(a) Mental Health EquityRequirement.
– A mental disorder defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-5, or subsequent editions published by the American Psychiatric Association, except this term does not include those mental disorders coded in the DSM-5 or subsequent editions as autism spectrum disorder (299.00), substance-related disorders (291.0 through 292.9 *DRH40297-MR-81* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 and 303.0 through 305.9), those coded as sexual dysfunctions not due to organic disease (302.70 through 302.79), and those coded as "V" codes.
– A mental disorder defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-5, or subsequent editions published by the American Psychiatric Association, except this term does not include those mental disorders coded in the DSM-5 or subsequent editions as autism *H634-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 spectrum disorder (299.00), substance-related disorders (291.0 through 292.9 and 303.0 through 305.9), those coded as sexual dysfunctions not due to organic disease (302.70 through 302.79), and those coded as "V" codes.
Forsubstance usedisorders,medical necessity determinations shall rely solelyon the most recent American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria.
Forsubstance usedisorders,medical necessitydeterminations shall relysolelyon the most recent American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria.
An Except as otherwise provided, an insurer may develop its own clinical review criteria or purchase or license clinical review criteria.
An Except as otherwise provided, an insurer maydevelop its own clinical review criteria or purchase or license clinical review criteria.
For substance use disorders, medical necessity determinations shall rely solely on the most recent revision of the American Society of Addiction Medicine Patient Placement Criteria for the Treatment of Substance-Related Disorders or (ii) criteria adopted by the insurer or its URO.
For substance use disorders, medical necessity determinations shall relysolelyon the most recent revision of the American Societyof Addiction Medicine Patient Placement Criteria for the Treatment of Substance-Related Disorders or (ii) criteria adopted by the insurer or its URO.
(4) In issuing a utilization review decision, an insurer shall:
Page 2 House Bill 634-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (4) In issuing a utilization review decision, an insurer shall:
Page 2 DRH40297-MR-81 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 a.
a.
DRH40297-MR-81 Page 3
House Bill 634-First Edition Page 3
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Action History

  1. Serial Referral To Finance Stricken

  2. Passed 1st Reading

  3. Ref to the Com on Health, if favorable, Insurance, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

  4. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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3 sponsors · 19 co-sponsors · 157 not signed on

Sponsors (3)

Co-sponsors (19)

Not signed on (157)

157 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 157 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

healthcare health-insurance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 634?
HB 634 is sponsored by Bill Ward (Republican), Phil Rubin (Democratic), James Roberson (Democratic), Amos L. Quick, III (Democratic), Garland E. Pierce (Democratic), Ben T. Moss, Jr. (Republican), Carolyn G. Logan (Democratic), Zack Hawkins (Democratic), Pricey Harrison (Democratic), Julia Greenfield (Democratic), Allison A. Dahle (Democratic), Carla D. Cunningham (U), Maria Cervania (Democratic), Deb Butler (Democratic), Neal Jackson (Republican), Mary Belk (Democratic), Amber M. Baker (Democratic), Eric Ager (Democratic), Cody Huneycutt (Republican), Vernetta Alston (Democratic), Donna McDowell White (Republican), and Terry M. Brown Jr. (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 634?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced March 31, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 634?
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