SENATE PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL 557

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

AN ACT

RELATING TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH; ESTABLISHING A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS THE INTERAGENCY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PURCHASING COLLABORATIVE'S AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT'S PROGRESS IN EVALUATING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES IN THE STATE AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE SCHEDULED FEBRUARY 2012 ISSUANCE OF A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR A NEW STATEWIDE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES ENTITY; PROVIDING FOR REPORTING TO THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. TEMPORARY PROVISION--BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE--EVALUATION OF AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES--REPORTING.--

          A. The "behavioral health services subcommittee" is created as a temporary subcommittee of the legislative health and human services committee. The subcommittee shall consist of four voting members of the legislative health and human services committee, whom the chair of the committee shall appoint as follows: two shall be senators, and two shall be representatives. The chair shall appoint advisory members who wish to attend as nonvoting members of the subcommittee. The behavioral health services subcommittee shall meet at least twice during the 2011 interim at the call of the chair of the legislative health and human services committee. Meetings shall be open to public participation pursuant to the Open Meetings Act.

          B. The behavioral health services subcommittee shall meet with representatives of the human services department and the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative to discuss the department's and the collaborative's progress in evaluating the operation of the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative and the delivery of publicly funded behavioral health services in the state to develop recommendations for:

                (1) the integration of behavioral health services with primary care services in the state;

                (2) efficient resource management;

                (3) the definition of the scope and extent of publicly funded behavioral health services;

                (4) the creation of standards for quality of behavioral health care, including outcome measures for reporting to agencies participating in the collaborative;

                (5) payment of behavioral health services provider claims in a timely, consistent and reliable manner;

                (6) analysis of and recommendations for ensuring the implementation of federal health care reform as it relates to behavioral health services in the state; and

                (7) establishment of procedures and indicators for the implementation of an early warning system established to detect any conditions in the delivery of or payment for behavioral health providers, state government or the general public. The early warning system would include an analysis of quality-of-care and financial indicators that would predict the need for the interagency behavioral health purchasing collaborative to take action to correct the hazardous conditions.

          C. The behavioral health services subcommittee shall report its findings and recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee by October 1, 2011.

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