Bill Summary for H 860 (2023-2024)

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Summary date: 

May 16 2023

Bill Information:

View NCGA Bill Details2023-2024 Session
House Bill 860 (Public) Filed Tuesday, April 25, 2023
AN ACT TO ENSURE THE USE OF TRAUMA-INFORMED, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS AND APPROPRIATE CARE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE.
Intro. by K. Baker, White, Saine, Loftis.

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Bill summary

House committee substitute to the 1st edition makes the following changes. Amends Part II, as follows. Changes references from "children" to "youth" in findings.

Now requires the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Health Benefits (DHB), to convene a workgroup composed of county child welfare agencies, representatives with lived experience in child welfare, the nonprofit corporation Benchmarks, prepaid health plans, and local management entities/managed care organizations (LMEs/MCOs) to identify innovative Medicaid service options to address any gaps in the care of children receiving foster care services. Requires each LME/MCO to identify any innovative practices it is using that could be an innovative Medicaid service option and requires communicating with healthcare providers in its catchment area about the opportunity to submit concept papers to the workgroup to aid in the identification of these innovative Medicaid service options. Specifically, requires the workgroup to identify options that: (1) model community evidence-based practices that support a foster child returning to the child's family in a timely manner and divert from higher level foster care placements or (2) model short-term residential treatment options that serve children with high acuity needs that divert a child from higher level placements such as psychiatric residential treatment facility placement. Allows considering providing stepdown options from higher levels of care.

(Previously, DHB had to develop, to the extent allowed under the State Medicaid Plan [Plan], new “in-lieu-of” services under the Plan for children receiving foster care services no later than 90 days after the act becomes law to be implemented statewide and apply a Children and Families specialty plan if one is implemented. Required DHB to use Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) to ensure access to the recommended interventions and therapies for Medicaid beneficiaries not enrolled in managed care. Required DHB to partner with certain stakeholders to identify innovative service options to address any gaps in the care of children receiving foster care services. The Plan had to (1) identify models of community evidence-based practices that support a foster child returning to their family in a timely manner and diverting higher level foster care placements and (2) identify model short-term residential treatment options that serve children with high acuity needs that divert a child from higher level placements such as psychiatric residential treatment facility placement.)

Now requires DHB to begin distributing funding, as appropriated by the act and to the extent allowed under GS 108A-54.1A (amendments to State Medicaid Plan), through capitated contracts with LMEs/MCOs and through capitated prepaid health plan contracts under Article 4 of GS Chapter 108D, to be used for the innovative Medicaid service options identified by the workgroup no later than three months after the workgroup has completed its work. Permits the funding to be used for (1) new services identified by the workgroup that may be implemented regionally or Statewide or (2) expanding a service or modality to a county or region where the service or modality was not previously implemented. Requires DHB to require all of the following from any entity receiving such funding: (1) timelines for, and establishment of, first- and second-year deliverables for any service that may be a phased-in service; (2) identification of required funding, including start-up funding and a three-year budget, including projected revenue sources and amounts; and (3) specific outcome measures with the attestation of the timely submission of the data to the applicable prepaid health plan and DHB. Makes other conforming changes to account for new workgroup and LMEs/MCOs.

(Previously, required DHB to issue requests for proposal (RFPs) for any services identified through the Plan development process as lacking and targeted towards any geographic location with identified inadequate provider access by no later than three months after the Plan is developed. Permitted services to be phased in over a period of two years.  Required that the RFPs be developed in partnership with the stakeholders developing the Plan and include the five following things: (1) the development of newly identified Medicaid services for foster children that may be implemented regionally or statewide; (2) expansion of a Medicaid service not located in the particular county or region; (3) timelines for, and establishment of, first- and second-year deliverables for any service that may be a phased-in service; (4) identification of required funding, including start-up funding and a three-year budget including projected revenue sources and amounts; (5) specific outcome measures with the attestation of the timely submission of the data to the responsible prepaid health plan and DHB. Set forth the review process for DHB review of the RFPs. Required DHB to train all county departments of social services and offer training to tribal welfare offices on the Medicaid services recommended for implementation by the stakeholders involved with developing the Plan, and to continue to provide status implementation within the impacted counties and region.)