CS/HB 79 — Crisis Stabilization Services
by Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee and Rep. Cummings and others (CS/SB 340 by Appropriations Committee and Senators Grimsley and Sobel)
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee (CF)
The bill directs the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to develop, implement, and maintain a data system whereby behavioral health managing entities collect utilization data from psychiatric public receiving facilities. These facilities operate under DCF designation as crisis stabilization units where emergency mental health care is provided. State mental health funding pays for space in receiving facilities to care for the indigent. Managing entities must comply with the bill’s requirements for data collection by August 1, 2015.
The bill requires managing entities to collect utilization data in real time or at least daily. This includes the number of indigent patients admitted, the census for the facility, and the number of beds purchased for indigent care. The managing entities must reconcile the data from receiving facilities after submission to ensure accuracy. Managing entities then must submit the utilization data to the DCF monthly. The DCF must create a statewide database to maintain and analyze the payments and the use of state-funded crisis stabilization services at public receiving facilities. The data must also be analyzed statewide to better understand the use and costs at public receiving facilities.
The DCF must adopt rules and submit an annual report beginning January 31, 2016, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the implementation of the database and the analysis of the data.
For the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the bill appropriates $175,000 in nonrecurring funds from the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Trust Fund to the DCF to implement the bill.
If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect upon becoming law.
Vote: Senate 39-0; House 114-0