House File 2402 - Reprinted HOUSE FILE 2402 BY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 502) (As Amended and Passed by the House February 21, 2024 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to behavioral health services for children 1 including psychiatric medical institutions for children. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 HF 2402 (3) 90 pf/ko/md
H.F. 2402 Section 1. PSYCHIATRIC MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS FOR CHILDREN 1 ENHANCED MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT COMPETITIVE BIDDING 2 PROCESS. No later than January 1, 2025, the department of 3 health and human services shall utilize a competitive bidding 4 process and issue an invitation to bid to select one or 5 more currently licensed psychiatric medical institutions for 6 children (PMICs), as defined in section 135H.1, located in the 7 state, to provide access to PMIC services for children with 8 specialized needs including problematic sexualized behaviors, 9 a history of aggression, or a diagnosis of intellectual or 10 developmental disability. The invitation to bid shall offer a 11 payment structure that provides enhanced reimbursement for a 12 PMIC that meets the selection criteria and which may be used to 13 provide increased staffing ratios, ongoing training of staff in 14 specialized programs that provide evidence-based treatment, and 15 appropriate services and modalities, including but not limited 16 to telemedicine, for children and their families. 17 Sec. 2. REDUCTION OF REGULATORY BARRIERS AND RESTRICTIONS 18 PSYCHIATRIC MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS FOR CHILDREN. The 19 department of health and human services shall review the 20 departments administrative rules regarding psychiatric medical 21 institutions for children (PMICs) and shall update the rules, 22 informed by the findings of the association of childrens 23 residential centers most recent nationwide survey and scan 24 of psychiatric residential treatment facilities, and the 25 recommendations of the coalition for family and childrens 26 services in Iowa, to do all of the following: 27 1. Allow a physician assistant or advanced registered nurse 28 practitioner to serve as a member of the plan of care team 29 as a member who is experienced in child psychiatry or child 30 psychology pursuant to 481 IAC 41.13(2). 31 2. Allow a physician assistant or advanced registered 32 nurse practitioner to be a member of the team to complete 33 the certification of need for services for a PMIC placement 34 pursuant to 481 IAC 41.9. 35 -1- HF 2402 (3) 90 pf/ko/md 1/ 4
H.F. 2402 3. Remove the reserve bed day limitations for 1 hospitalizations and expand the number of other therapeutic 2 absences beyond thirty days to allow for skill acquisition, 3 stabilization, and continuity of care as deemed necessary by 4 the childs medical providers and in accordance with a childs 5 discharge plan. 6 4. Allow licensed professionals, based on competencies 7 rather than license type, to order the use of restraints 8 or seclusions and to conduct post-restraint or seclusion 9 assessments, including via telehealth, to increase response 10 times and expand access to care. 11 5. a. Allow therapy and behavioral health intervention 12 services to be included as billable services provided during 13 a placement at a PMIC to provide continuity of care, maintain 14 established clinical relationships, and avoid disruption in 15 services or delays in reestablishing care post discharge. 16 b. Allow family therapy and family behavioral health 17 intervention services to be included in billable services 18 during the placement of a child in a PMIC without requiring 19 the childs presence for the family to work on targeted skills 20 essential for the childs success and to prepare the family for 21 the childs return home. 22 c. Provide reimbursement codes to cover services beyond 23 those provided outside the PMIC care team as necessary to 24 adequately treat substance use disorder, sexualized behaviors, 25 autism, and other services needed to support the child. 26 6. Standardize all of the following across all managed care 27 organizations as follows: 28 a. Require that authorization for a PMIC placement shall 29 be retroactive to the date the request for authorization is 30 submitted to the managed care organization not the date the 31 managed care organization responds; or require a managed care 32 organization to respond within five business days from receipt 33 of a request for authorization for a PMIC placement, if the 34 certification of need and independent assessment have been 35 -2- HF 2402 (3) 90 pf/ko/md 2/ 4
H.F. 2402 received in a timely manner. 1 b. Prohibit a managed care organization from denying 2 authorization for a PMIC placement based on lack of parental 3 involvement, lack of participation in behavioral health 4 intervention services on an outpatient basis, or based on other 5 perceived behavioral issues. 6 c. Allow a managed care organization to authorize an initial 7 PMIC placement of sixty days upon admission with concurrent 8 stay reviews every thirty days thereafter. A PMIC shall submit 9 a care plan to the managed care organization within thirty days 10 of the admission. 11 d. Require concurrent stay reviews to be standardized 12 and limited to a brief description of progress, or lack of 13 progress, toward the childs goals and objectives. 14 e. Require a managed care organization to offer support to 15 families, including assistance with transportation to and from 16 a PMIC to visit a child. 17 7. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, 18 including certificate of need requirements, allow a previously 19 licensed PMIC that has the capacity to provide up to an 20 additional four intermediate care facility for persons with an 21 intellectual disability beds, and which additional beds meet 22 all other licensing and state fire marshal requirements, to 23 increase their licensed capacity to include the additional 24 beds without further review including by the health facilities 25 council. 26 8. Allow for step-down PMIC placements or supervised 27 apartment living for a child to utilize programming provided 28 in a PMIC while living independently in a smaller residential 29 setting without twenty-four-hour supervision. 30 Sec. 3. HAWKI PROGRAM BENEFITS INCLUDED IN QUALIFIED 31 CHILD HEALTH PLAN REVIEW. The department of health 32 and human services shall review the benefits included in a 33 qualified child health plan under the Hawki program and shall 34 specifically address the inclusion of applied behavior analysis 35 -3- HF 2402 (3) 90 pf/ko/md 3/ 4
H.F. 2402 services as a covered benefit. The department shall report the 1 findings of the review to the general assembly by December 1, 2 2024. 3 -4- HF 2402 (3) 90 pf/ko/md 4/ 4