Psilocybin mushrooms.

Two Massachusetts bills that would establish separate pilot programs for psychedelic-assisted treatment advanced from committee this week and were referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

On Wednesday, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing recommended House Bill 4200 “ought to pass.” The committee took similar action on House Bill 2203, a separate proposal focused specifically on regulated psilocybin services.

Both measures had previously received favorable reports from the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery before being sent to Health Care Financing.

House Bill 4200, filed by State Representative James O’Day, would direct the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to establish a pilot program allowing clinically appropriate patients to receive monitored psychedelic treatment at licensed mental health clinics.

The department could select no more than three clinics, where psychedelic substances would be administered on-site by multidisciplinary care teams. The bill does not identify specific psychedelics, instead leaving the definition of eligible “psychedelic materials” to the Department of Public Health.

Participating clinics would be required to focus exclusively on mental health treatment and could not be affiliated with cannabis businesses, psychedelic drug-development companies or pharmaceutical companies.

The clinics would track outcomes involving patients treated for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder. The information would be submitted to the state to help develop clinical protocols and a potential permanent regulatory framework.

House Bill 2203, filed by State Representative Marjorie Decker, would establish a more specifically defined Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Program for adults who are at least 21 years old.

The program would study psilocybin services for people with post-traumatic stress disorder, end-of-life distress, depression and other conditions selected by the Department of Public Health. The bill defines psilocybin as a psychedelic compound produced by fungi and includes psilocin, which is produced when the body processes psilocybin.

Under House Bill 2203, psilocybin treatment would be provided through pathways approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in controlled community settings. University researchers experienced in psychedelic clinical trials would supervise the program and work with mental health clinics, hospice organizations, veterans’ facilities and other community-based providers.

Participating universities would oversee research protocols, institutional review board approval, facilitator training and data collection. The pilot would last at least two years, and the state would study its effectiveness, community impacts and whether psilocybin-assisted therapy could eventually be covered by MassHealth.

Both bills are now pending before the House Committee on Ways and Means. They would need additional approval before advancing to a vote by the full House.