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An Act To Cut the Cost of Behavioral Health Care in Hospital Emergency Rooms and To Enhance Access to Peer Support and Community-based Services
CONCEPT DRAFT SUMMARY
This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208. This bill proposes to provide community-based mental health and substance abuse providers in emergency rooms to triage both mental health and substance abuse patients, in order to refer such patients to more appropriate and less expensive community based treatment, and use the savings to increase access to peer support services.
Amendment to change from a concept draft to a Resolve directing the Department to:
1. Review Emergency Department usage information to determine the number/percentage of people who present in the ED with behavioral health or substance issues using MaineCare Data and any other health information studies available.
2. Determine the percentage of people who present with only behavioral health or substance abuse issue (without a co-occurring physical health issue that must be dealt with in the ER)
3. Work with stakeholders (including behavioral health providers, consumers, families, law enforcement, emt personnel, hospital staff) to determine the reasons for people with solely behavioral health and substance abuse issues being taken to the Emergency Rooms and the barriers to taking them to a more appropriate community based emergency service
4. Research best practice models around the country that triage this population away from Emergency Rooms BEFORE they incur the cost of emergency room admittance and evaluation, and ways to train/educate emergency personnel in knowing more accurately where to take people. Special attention shall be given to:
Consumer preference
Coordination between community based providers and hospitals including single assessments, sharing of records/information
Innovative ways to work with MTALA requirements
Note of any other licensing, regulatory, contract changes that might be required to do this diversion successfully
5. Estimate the cost savings that would be associated with this diversion
6. Recommend augmented peer and community supports that could be funded with these savings that would lessen the need for emergency services.
7. Report back to the HHS Committee of the Legislature in March, 2012 with at least three different models that might accomplish the goal of Diverting behavioral health and substance abuse clients to more appropriate and cost-effective services for the Committee’s review and action. |
Application (DOC)
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