Master FIR (1988)

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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR:	Gorham		DATE TYPED:	02-09-00		HB
SHORT TITLE:		Behavioral Health Services				SB	294
					ANALYST:		Taylor

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY00	FY01	FY00	FY01	Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
	$ 500.0			Recurring	General Fund
			$ 1,374.0	Recurring	Federal Funds

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to None

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

SB294 makes the following changes to the Public Assistance Act.

It adds a new section requiring that the state's managed care contracts require the use of a standard claims form for all medical, surgical and behavioral health claims for payment and service. It requires that the human services department consult with other state agencies, health agencies, health professional organizations, health advocates and other interested person in designing the forms.

It adds a new section that ensures that initial behavioral health authorizations for visits or treatment are valid for a minimum of 60 days, and that evaluations for reauthorization not be required more frequently than every 30 days after the first sixty-day treatment. It also guarantees that authorizations and reauthorizations are considered approved with payment due unless the behavioral health organization communicates disapproval within 48 hours of the request;

It adds a new section that requires that at least 85 percent of gross income received for the purpose of providing behavioral health services to medicaid clients be spent on direct service or care.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The bill carries a $500 thousand appropriation to the human services department to expand the availability of behavioral health services through managed care.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

None known.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

Substantive issues provided in the HPC analysis are included as an attachment to this FIR.

BT/gm

Attachment