As many of you are aware, Senate Bill 221, signed by the governor on 10/8/21, affects provision of Behavioral Health Treatment (BHT) services, which are considered “treatment for an ongoing mental health disorder.” The bill requires that all direct appointments must be offered or provided within 10 business days of the prior appointment beginning July 1, 2022.
As discussed in the May 12th and 13th Connections meetings, the BHPN is requiring adherence to SB221 beginning 6/1/2022 in preparation for the legal requirement on 7/1/2022. This gives a small buffer, allowing us all to proactively solve any challenges we may encounter before the official date on July 1.
While BHT often occurs more often than every 10 business days, we must be vigilant about cases where there is an unexpected gap between appointments. These points of impact can occur during Assessment, Treatment, and Transfers.
- Always ensure you are offering a direct appointment every 10 business days. This appointment can be offered at any authorized service level (e.g., H0004, H00032, H2019).
- Maintain detailed documentation of all appointments offered. Please reference our Provider Manual for requirements and available templates.
- Once a client is matched with a provider for treatment, you will need to begin offering appointments every 10 business days, including during the assessment authorization period.
- If a client requests or requires a transfer, continue to provide (or at least offer) treatment at least every 10 business days until transfer to a specific provider occurs.
- If you encounter issues with complying with SB221, please contact your BHPN Care team for support immediately.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important new regulatory requirement. As a reminder, starting in June we will be conducting spot audits to ensure compliance. Please look out for a notification from our Quality Department. Once notified, you will have 1-week to provide the documentation.
As always, we are here to help and appreciate all you do every day to improve the lives of the clients and families we serve.