Bill > HF2543

This bill aims to improve subacute mental health care facilities and services by requiring subacute care facilities to develop an initial treatment plan with a resident within twenty-four hours of admission, and by establishing strict timelines for insurance authorization requests for these services, with urgent requests needing a determination within forty-eight hours and non-urgent ones within five to ten days depending on complexity. It also mandates the creation of an electronic system to track available beds at psychiatric medical institutions for children, and requires the departments of inspections, appeals, and licensing, and health and human services to review and potentially revise their rules to make it easier to establish and expand subacute mental health care services, including making employment requirements less stringent than those at state mental health institutes. Furthermore, the bill directs the department of health and human services to assess the feasibility of providing subacute mental health care services at the state mental health institute at Independence, including exploring partnerships with private operators, and to report its findings by January 4, 2027, with the possibility of offering these services if deemed feasible and within budget after July 1, 2026.