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Wednesday, January 25th, 9:30 am
Legislative Office Bldg, Rm 101
Senate Health and Human Services Committee
SB 85 recognizes the importance of creating a sustainable behavioral health crisis stabilization system. It sets forth a new definition of behavioral health crisis program which includes a “continuum of services to address crisis intervention, crisis stabilization, and crisis residential treatment needs of those with a mental health and/or substance use disorder crisis” (notably, these are the three pillars of the crisis continuum: someone to call, someone to respond, and some place to go). The goal of the overarching crisis system is to reduce the need for individuals going to the emergency room during a mental health or substance use disorder crisis.
In addition, this bill prohibits insurance companies from requiring a prior authorization for short-term behavioral health crisis intervention and stabilization services, short-term behavioral health intensive in home services, and short-term behavioral health residential treatment services, unless the insurance carrier has a medical clinician or licensed mental health provider available on a 24-hour hotline to make the medical necessity determination and assist with approval, coordination, and placement of the patient at the appropriate level of care. It also requires that approval decisions must be provided in less than 6 hours.
Lastly, the bill creates a commission to study the sustainability of the crisis system in New Hampshire. NAMI New Hampshire is a named member of the commission.
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