h_hie_2017a_2017-05-09t12:59:46z0 Hearing Summary

Date: 05/09/2017

Location: HCR 0107

01:00 PM -- SB 17-019



Representative Singer presented Senate Bill 17-019 to the committee, along with a handout (Attachment A). The reengrossed bill, initially recommended by the Legislative Oversight Committee on the Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems, requires the Office of Behavioral Health in the Department of Human Services (DHS) to:



170509 AttachA.pdf



• promulgate rules, along with the Department of Corrections (DOC), to require providers under each agency's authority and allow public hospitals and licensed private hospitals to use an agreed-upon formulary by December 1, 2017;

• develop processes for education and marketing the medication formulary on or before December 1, 2017.



DHS is required to submit a budget request to the Office of State Planning and Budgeting in November 2017 detailing its funding needs in order to assume the following responsibilities:



• on or before September 1, 2018, and every September 1 of every even-numbered year thereafter, to conduct a review of the medication formulary for purposes of addressing any urgent concerns or proposing updates;

• on or before July 1, 2019, and every two years thereafter as necessary, to conduct a review of the medication formulary to update it and ensure compliance with the formulary used by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing; and

• on or before September 1, 2018, in collaboration with several identified stakeholders, to develop a plan by which the patient-specific mental health and treatment information can be shared electronically across systems.



DHS is also required to:



• encourage providers to utilize cooperative purchasing from the formulary to maximize cost savings; and

• study and develop options for collaboration with local county jails to coordinate medication purchasing and develop, in partnership with the Behavioral Health Transformation Council, a medication purchasing plan on or before September 1, 2018.

In addition, the bill requires the DOC, county jails, community mental health centers, the Division of Youth Corrections in DHS, and other providers to share patient-specific mental health care and treatment information, provided that federal and state confidentiality requirements are met, including the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Beginning in January 2019, the DHS and DOC are required to report annually to specified committees of the General Assembly on use of the formulary and collective purchasing as part of their annual SMART Act hearings.





01:10 PM -- Dr. Patrick Fox, representing DHS, testified in support of the bill.



01:13 PM -- Regina Huerter, representing DHS, testified in support of the bill.



01:23 PM -- Kerry White, representing Legislative Council Staff, answered questions regarding the fiscal note.





01:28 PM



Representative Singer wrapped up his presentation to the committee.