Relating to subacute mental health care facilities and services, and including effective date provisions

This bill relates to subacute mental health care (SMHC) facilities and services. The bill eliminates the requirement that SMHC must be limited to a period of calendar days unless a longer period of time is adopted by the department of health and human services (HHS). The bill requires a subacute care facility to develop a written treatment care plan with a resident within hours of the resident’s admission to the subacute care facility. _____ The bill requires, upon a mental health professional’s request for prior authorization (request) for insurance coverage of an individual’s subacute mental health care service, a managed care organization to provide a determination to the mental health professional within hours after the date of the receipt of the request if the request is urgent; within calendar days after the date of the receipt of the request if the request is nonurgent; and within calendar days after the date of the receipt of the request if the request is nonurgent and involves complex or unique circumstances. The bill directs HHS and the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing (DIAL) to collaborate to review each department’s administrative rules and eliminate any rule the departments determine impedes the establishment of new subacute mental health care facilities and services; expansion of existing subacute mental health care facilities and services; or ease of access to subacute mental health care facilities and services. The bill requires HHS and DIAL to modify their respective rules to allow a subacute mental health care facility to have more beds to provide subacute mental health care without being considered a mental health institution. The bill requires HHS and DIAL to modify their respective rules so that the requirements to employ an individual at a subacute mental health care facility are less stringent than those for the same employment at a state mental health institute. The bill allows HHS and DIAL to adopt emergency rules to implement the bill. The bill takes effect upon enactment.