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House File 529

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1                                           HOUSE FILE 529     
  1  2 
  1  3                             AN ACT
  1  4 DIRECTING THE MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
  1  5    COMMISSION TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REDESIGNING THE MENTAL
  1  6    HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SERVICES SYSTEM FOR
  1  7    ADULTS AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.  
  1  8 
  1  9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  1 10 
  1 11    Section 1.  MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
  1 12 SERVICES SYSTEM REDESIGN.
  1 13    In fulfilling the mental health and developmental
  1 14 disabilities commission's duty under section 225C.6,
  1 15 subsection 1, paragraph "q", the commission shall submit a
  1 16 report containing recommendations in accordance with this
  1 17 section to the governor and general assembly on or before
  1 18 December 31, 2003, for redesign of the state's mental health
  1 19 and developmental disabilities services system for adults.
  1 20 The commission shall address all of the following system
  1 21 components in the report and recommendations:
  1 22    1.  STANDARD CLINICAL AND FINANCIAL ELIGIBILITY.
  1 23    The commission shall do all of the following:
  1 24    a.  Propose a standard set of clinical and diagnostic
  1 25 eligibility requirements for use in determining which
  1 26 individuals will be covered for defined core services,
  1 27 including but not limited to, general clinical eligibility
  1 28 standards, service access criteria, level of care
  1 29 requirements, and terminology changes.
  1 30    b.  Propose financial eligibility criteria for qualifying
  1 31 covered individuals, including guidelines for resources,
  1 32 copayments, income, and assets.
  1 33    c.  Identify the total projected cost for all counties to
  1 34 adopt the standardized clinical and financial eligibility
  1 35 requirements and criteria proposed by the commission.
  2  1    2.  MINIMUM SET OF CORE SERVICES.
  2  2    The commission shall do all of the following:
  2  3    a.  Identify a minimum set of core services to be provided
  2  4 by each county.  This core set of services shall be available
  2  5 statewide.  An individual's eligibility for core services
  2  6 shall be based on consistent clinical criteria and service
  2  7 necessity.
  2  8    b.  Identify the total projected cost for all counties to
  2  9 make the core services available.
  2 10    c.  Design the core set of services as a replacement for
  2 11 the current statutory mandates for services.  The purpose of
  2 12 replacing the current statutory mandates with the core set of
  2 13 services is to shift the emphasis to community-based services
  2 14 by providing covered individuals a reasonable level of choice
  2 15 to meet their individual needs within available funding.  The
  2 16 initial set of core services considered by the commission
  2 17 shall include all of the following community-based services:
  2 18    (1)  Mental health outpatient treatment.
  2 19    (2)  Inpatient psychiatric evaluation and treatment at
  2 20 county-designated facilities.
  2 21    (3)  Service coordination and case management.
  2 22    (4)  Vocational services.
  2 23    (5)  Residential services.
  2 24    3.  FUNDING FOLLOWS THE COVERED INDIVIDUAL.
  2 25    The commission shall include a process by which funding
  2 26 follows the covered individual among the options considered,
  2 27 including but not limited to the following:
  2 28    a.  Develop a new formula that allows public funding to
  2 29 follow the covered individual regardless of categorical
  2 30 funding.  Distribution of state funds shall be based on a
  2 31 matrix of disability-related reimbursement rate cells.  Each
  2 32 cell shall specify a reimbursement rate based on disability
  2 33 group and level of functioning.  The funding formula shall
  2 34 take into account the number of covered individuals enrolled
  2 35 in each county and the average cost of services provided to
  3  1 covered individuals in each cell.  The formula shall
  3  2 incorporate all of the following principles:
  3  3    (1)  Each county will receive a quarterly allotment equal
  3  4 to the product of the average costs per cell times the number
  3  5 of individuals enrolled in each cell during the previous
  3  6 quarter.  To accommodate cash flow needs of counties and
  3  7 reduce the level of fund balances counties need to maintain,
  3  8 the state would make payments at the beginning of each quarter
  3  9 based on the anticipated number of covered individuals, with a
  3 10 reconciliation in the next quarter to the actual number of
  3 11 covered individuals.
  3 12    (2)  Increasing overall state funding levels in proportion
  3 13 to county funding levels.
  3 14    (3)  Allocating any increased state funding to achieve
  3 15 statewide equity in service access.
  3 16    (4)  Allocating the state funding for state institutions
  3 17 through counties rather than directly to the institutions so
  3 18 that these services operate on an equal basis with other
  3 19 services.
  3 20    (5)  Allocating state funding and administrative costs for
  3 21 state cases to the covered individual's county of residence.
  3 22    (6)  Allocating the risk for service cost increases to the
  3 23 counties and allocating the cost for increases in the number
  3 24 of covered individuals to the state.  Risk allocation
  3 25 provisions shall address methods for managing the risk.
  3 26    (7)  Providing for risk management and flexibility
  3 27 provisions such as cell rate adjustments, allowing waiting
  3 28 lists to be used for an unanticipated increase in the number
  3 29 of covered individuals, distributing quarterly allocations to
  3 30 counties based upon the previous quarter's number of covered
  3 31 individuals, removing categorical funding restrictions,
  3 32 applying standards to ensure county cash flow capacity, and
  3 33 allowing inflation adjustments.
  3 34    (8)  Expanding the state risk pool provisions under section
  3 35 426B.5 to allow access to risk pool funding for specific
  4  1 purposes and to allow counties to maintain a certain level of
  4  2 fund balances in order to address certain cost factors.
  4  3    b.  All of the following factors shall be considered in
  4  4 developing formula provisions for calculating the distribution
  4  5 of funds:
  4  6    (1)  A county's ability to levy based on available taxable
  4  7 valuation and average per capita income.
  4  8    (2)  A requirement for each county to have a fund balance
  4  9 sufficient to cover all of the following:
  4 10    (a)  Cash flow for current services.
  4 11    (b)  Building maintenance and repair costs.
  4 12    (c)  Investments in new programs.
  4 13    (d)  A local risk pool that will cover extraordinary
  4 14 expenses while a county is preparing an application to the
  4 15 statewide risk pool.
  4 16    (3)  County costs for administration and infrastructure.
  4 17    (4)  Funds for counties to pay the costs of crisis
  4 18 response, hospital diversion, prevention, consultation,
  4 19 education, and outreach services that are provided outside the
  4 20 rate cell methodology or fee payment policy.
  4 21    (5)  Incentives to counties for coordination,
  4 22 collaboration, and infrastructure development.
  4 23    c.  Identify state and county costs to implement the
  4 24 proposed funding formula for the individuals and services
  4 25 identified under subsections 1 and 2.
  4 26    4.  ADDRESS THE LEGAL SETTLEMENT PROCESS.
  4 27    The commission shall consider options for addressing the
  4 28 deficiencies in the legal settlement process currently used
  4 29 for determining governmental financial liability for service
  4 30 costs.  The options considered may include but are not limited
  4 31 to providing for a transition to a system that provides for
  4 32 service access based upon an individual's residency.
  4 33    5.  COORDINATION OF FUNDING STREAMS.
  4 34    The commission shall do all of the following:
  4 35    a.  Develop a specific approach for counties and the state
  5  1 to access additional federal housing funds.
  5  2    b.  In consultation with counties, support new efforts to
  5  3 maximize federal funding for defined core services, including
  5  4 accessing federal funds to support or match county
  5  5 expenditures to standardize inpatient and outpatient treatment
  5  6 and hospital diversion costs for Medicaid program recipients.
  5  7    c.  Develop recommendations identifying the manner in which
  5  8 services will be funded by the federal government, the state,
  5  9 and the counties.
  5 10    Sec. 2.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of
  5 11 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.  
  5 12 
  5 13 
  5 14                                                             
  5 15                               CHRISTOPHER C. RANTS
  5 16                               Speaker of the House
  5 17 
  5 18 
  5 19                                                             
  5 20                               MARY E. KRAMER
  5 21                               President of the Senate
  5 22 
  5 23    I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
  5 24 is known as House File 529, Eightieth General Assembly.
  5 25 
  5 26 
  5 27                                                             
  5 28                               MARGARET THOMSON
  5 29                               Chief Clerk of the House
  5 30 Approved                , 2003
  5 31 
  5 32 
  5 33                            
  5 34 THOMAS J. VILSACK
  5 35 Governor
     

Text: HF00528                           Text: HF00530
Text: HF00500 - HF00599                 Text: HF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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