Senate Study Bill 3083 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES BILL BY CHAIRPERSON WARME) A BILL FOR An Act relating to subacute mental health care facilities and 1 services, and including effective date provisions. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5969XC (3) 91 dg/ko

S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 135G.1, subsection 12, paragraph c, Code 1 2026, is amended by striking the paragraph. 2 Sec. 2. Section 135G.3, Code 2026, is amended by adding the 3 following new subsection: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. Within twenty-four hours of a 5 resident’s admission to a subacute care facility, the subacute 6 care facility shall develop a written treatment care plan with 7 the resident. 8 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 135G.3A Insurance authorization. 9 Upon a mental health professional’s request for prior 10 authorization for insurance coverage of an individual’s 11 subacute mental health care service, a managed care 12 organization shall provide a determination to the mental health 13 professional for the preauthorization request as follows: 14 1. Within forty-eight hours after the date of receipt of an 15 urgent preauthorization request. 16 2. Within five calendar days after the date of receipt of a 17 nonurgent preauthorization request. 18 3. Within ten calendar days after the date of receipt of a 19 nonurgent preauthorization request involving complex or unique 20 circumstances. 21 Sec. 4. DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND 22 INSPECTIONS, APPEALS, AND LICENSING —— ADMINISTRATIVE RULE 23 REVIEW. The department of health and human services and the 24 department of inspections, appeals, and licensing shall do all 25 of the following: 26 1. Collaborate to review each department’s administrative 27 rules adopted pursuant to section 135G.10 and eliminate any 28 rule the departments determine impedes any of the following 29 more than the benefit the rule provides: 30 a. Establishment of new subacute mental health care 31 facilities and services. 32 b. Expansion of existing subacute mental health care 33 facilities and services. 34 c. Ease of access to subacute mental health care facilities 35 -1- LSB 5969XC (3) 91 dg/ko 1/ 3

S.F. _____ and services. 1 2. Modify the departments’ respective rules to allow a 2 subacute mental health care facility to increase the number of 3 beds available to provide subacute mental health care without 4 the facility being defined as a mental health institution. 5 3. Modify the departments’ respective rules so that the 6 requirements to employ an individual at a subacute mental 7 health care facility are less stringent than the requirements 8 for the same employment at a state mental health institute. 9 Sec. 5. EMERGENCY RULES. The department of health and 10 human services and the department of inspections, appeals, 11 and licensing may adopt emergency rules under section 17A.4, 12 subsection 3, and section 17A.5, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, 13 to implement the provisions of this Act and shall submit 14 such rules to the administrative rules coordinator and 15 the administrative code editor pursuant to section 17A.5, 16 subsection 1, within the same period. The rules shall be 17 effective immediately upon filing unless a later date is 18 specified in the rules. Any rules adopted in accordance with 19 this section shall also be published as a notice of intended 20 action as provided in section 17A.4. 21 Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 22 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 23 EXPLANATION 24 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 25 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 26 This bill relates to subacute mental health care (SMHC) 27 facilities and services. 28 The bill eliminates the requirement that SMHC must be 29 limited to a period of 10 calendar days unless a longer period 30 of time is adopted by the department of health and human 31 services (HHS). 32 The bill requires a subacute care facility to develop a 33 written treatment care plan with a resident within 24 hours of 34 the resident’s admission to the subacute care facility. 35 -2- LSB 5969XC (3) 91 dg/ko 2/ 3

S.F. _____ The bill requires, upon a mental health professional’s 1 request for prior authorization (request) for insurance 2 coverage of an individual’s subacute mental health care 3 service, a managed care organization to provide a determination 4 to the mental health professional within 48 hours after 5 the date of the receipt of the request if the request is 6 urgent; within 5 calendar days after the date of the receipt 7 of the request if the request is nonurgent; and within 10 8 calendar days after the date of the receipt of the request 9 if the request is nonurgent and involves complex or unique 10 circumstances. 11 The bill directs HHS and the department of inspections, 12 appeals, and licensing (DIAL) to collaborate to review each 13 department’s administrative rules and eliminate any rule the 14 departments determine impedes the establishment of new subacute 15 mental health care facilities and services; expansion of 16 existing subacute mental health care facilities and services; 17 or ease of access to subacute mental health care facilities and 18 services. 19 The bill requires HHS and DIAL to modify their respective 20 rules to allow a subacute mental health care facility to have 21 more beds to provide subacute mental health care without being 22 considered a mental health institution. 23 The bill requires HHS and DIAL to modify their respective 24 rules so that the requirements to employ an individual at 25 a subacute mental health care facility are less stringent 26 than those for the same employment at a state mental health 27 institute. 28 The bill allows HHS and DIAL to adopt emergency rules to 29 implement the bill. 30 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 31 -3- LSB 5969XC (3) 91 dg/ko 3/ 3