BILL REQ. #:  S-0659.3 

Read first time 01/27/11.   Referred to Committee on Health & Long-Term Care.

     AN ACT Relating to facilitating integration of behavioral health care into primary care by reducing regulatory barriers; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1)(a) Representatives from the department of social and health services and the department of health shall examine the best regulatory practices that will facilitate and support integration of primary care and behavioral health care in a county located in southwest Washington with a population between one hundred thousand and one hundred fifty thousand. These representatives shall form a committee with representatives of a public health agency, mental health treatment agency, and drug abuse prevention agency in such a county to review the regulatory practices that have an impact on integration, including impacts on mental health, chemical dependency, and federal qualified health centers. This review must include:
     (i) Streamlined and simplified electronic data management and reporting through a single-data management system that facilitates: Tracking of clients across primary care and behavioral health settings and communication across care delivery systems; caseload-based care management and consultation; outcome tracking and evidence-based, measurement-based care; and performance-based contracting;
     (ii) Consolidation of licensing procedures across systems;
     (iii) Provision of blended and flexible funding; and
     (iv) Simplified and consistent administrative procedures concerning access to care which empower treatment professionals to authorize appropriate treatment interventions.
     (b) The committee shall provide a preliminary report to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature on December 1, 2011. This report must include a description of barriers and timetables applicable to the implementation of the best regulatory practices to support integration in such a county, and an assessment of whether these practices would be feasible or beneficial if they were to be implemented across the state. The committee shall provide a final report on December 1, 2012.
     (2) The department of social and health services shall: (a) Complete the process it has undertaken for the purpose of developing integrated rules or legislation for chemical dependency, problem gambling, and community mental health agencies by December 1, 2011; and (b) expand its process to include an analysis of the barriers to integration with rules or legislation applicable to federal qualified health centers seeking to offer integrated primary and behavioral health care by December 1, 2012.