College Students Continuation of Mental Health Care Act of 2025
This bill creates a framework for college mental health providers to deliver telehealth services to students located in states other than the provider’s home state, using the provider’s primary state license. In effect, it allows limited licensing reciprocity so that campus-based mental health clinicians can treat students who are in a different state, provided they meet specific pre-treatment requirements and stay within the practice rules of the student’s location. The goal is to improve continuity of mental health care for college students, including those studying remotely or who relocate during a term, while maintaining state-specified professional boundaries. Key features include required steps before starting telehealth (such as verifying student identity and securing consent about the treatment relationship), limits on the scope of practice to what the student’s state permits, treatment of malpractice insurance as if services were provided in the primary state, and encouragement of interstate compacts to formalize cross-state telehealth arrangements. The bill defines several terms (e.g., “college mental health provider,” “covered student,” “primary state”) to clarify who is eligible and under what conditions such telehealth services can occur.
Key Points
- 1Establishes limited licensing reciprocity for college mental health providers to furnish telehealth services to students located in the student’s state, using the provider’s primary state license, unless the student’s state affirmatively prohibits practice.
- 2Before providing telehealth, providers must: verify the student’s identity, obtain and record acknowledgment that the student intends to receive services, secure multiple means of telehealth contact in case of tech failure, and, for new patients, obtain a written acknowledgment of the treatment relationship or use real-time communication.
- 3Scope of practice: providers must act within the primary state’s license authority, and may not offer services that are prohibited by the student’s state or that would be prohibited if conducted in the student’s state; they may not exceed the scope of what the primary state would authorize.
- 4Malpractice insurance: coverage is treated as if the services were provided in the primary state.
- 5Interstate compacts: Congress is authorized to approve agreements between states to allow such telehealth services, as long as they do not conflict with the statute.
- 6Definitions: key terms include “college mental health provider,” “covered student,” “institution of higher education,” “primary state,” “state,” and “telehealth technology.”