Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1979 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Hall S.B. No. 1979
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the study of the fiscal impact on local governments in
7	7	Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall Counties of
8	8	restructuring the NorthSTAR behavioral health system and the
9	9	effective implementation the Sunset Commission Health and Human
10	10	Services Commission Issue 9 recommendation.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission
13	13	shall contract with a private entity approved by the North Texas
14	14	Behavioral Health Authority through a majority vote of the
15	15	authority's board of directors to undertake a comprehensive study
16	16	of the potential impact on local governments and continuity of
17	17	services in Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall
18	18	Counties if the present behavioral health managed care structure,
19	19	known as the NorthSTAR system, were to be dismantled in accordance
20	20	with the recommendations in Issue 9 of the Health and Human Services
21	21	Sunset Commission report.
22	22	SECTION 2. The scope of the study shall encompass but not be
23	23	limited to
24	24	a) Defining the initial and expected impact on
25	25	county and municipal budgets of any system that
26	26	might replace the present configuration
27	27	b) Defining the likelihood of and anticipated
28	28	impact of recidivism resulting from increased
29	29	acuity in the indigent population presently
30	30	served in the current system if care is disrupted
31	31	c) Defining the potential impact on network
32	32	access
33	33	d) Defining the impact on integrated care
34	34	e) Defining the overall impact on quality of care
35	35	outcomes
36	36	f) Defining the overall impact on the cost of
37	37	care
38	38	g) Defining the initial and expected impact on
39	39	local medical and surgical hospitals
40	40	SECTION 3. The findings of this study will be reported back
41	41	to the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority and the Texas Health
42	42	and Human Services Commission no later than June 30, 2016.
43	43	SECTION 4.
44	44	Collin County may exit NorthSTAR on or by October 1, 2016.
45	45	The present deadline for any other changes to the NorthSTAR
46	46	model shall be changed to September 1, 2017. This
47	47	modification shall be made in order to align the current
48	48	contract cycle with the State of Texas fiscal year and allow
49	49	the next Legislature the ability to make an appropriately
50	50	informed deliberation on the future of public behavioral
51	51	health care in Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and
52	52	Rockwall Counties.
53	53	SECTION 5. In the interim period the North Texas
54	54	Behavioral Health Authority and the Texas Health and Human
55	55	Services Commission shall solicit local stakeholder and
56	56	community input, and incorporating the findings of the impact
57	57	study, shall work with the representatives designated by the
58	58	affected county governments in the development of a system
59	59	that incorporates
60	60	a) Local control and governance of the system by
61	61	member counties through their designated voting
62	62	representatives on the North Texas Behavioral
63	63	Health Authority
64	64	b) True integration and coordination of mental
65	65	health services, substance use disorder services,
66	66	crisis services and physical health care
67	67	c) Equal care for non-Medicaid and Medicaid
68	68	behavioral health populations
69	69	d) Open access
70	70	e) Braided local, state, and federal funding
71	71	f) Connectivity and coordination of coverage
72	72	which preserves the principles of 'no wrong door'
73	73	g) Choice of providers
74	74	h) Waiver of Institute of Mental Disease (IMD)
75	75	Exclusion
76	76	i) Separation of authority and provider
77	77	functions
78	78	j) Serving all those meeting state criteria for
79	79	behavioral health services in one system:
80	80	i. Income at or below 200% of Federal
81	81	Poverty Level,
82	82	ii. All individuals meeting state
83	83	behavioral health clinical criteria;
84	84	iii. Individuals meeting state Medicaid
85	85	requirements
86	86	k) Comprehensive evaluation and transparent
87	87	publication of data
88	88	l) Status as a public local behavioral health
89	89	authority entity eligible to put up non-federal
90	90	dollars to match federal DSRIP funds
91	91	m) Provider payment plan and mechanisms to ensure
92	92	a competitive provider market and an adequate
93	93	network of providers capable of providing broad
94	94	access to services;
95	95	n) Plan to ensure quality of services provided to
96	96	clients and
97	97	o) Incentives of inclusion of local
98	98	participation or match requirements
99	99	p) Option for Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman,
100	100	Navarro or Rockwall Counties to continue in the
101	101	plan or choose an alternate model and for counties
102	102	contiguous to present or future NorthSTAR
103	103	counties to join the model if the county
104	104	governments of those contiguous counties should
105	105	so choose
106	106	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately.