2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 27 - BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (§§ 27-1-101 — 27-94-107) › BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (§§ 27-50-101 — 27-64.5-102) › Article 50 - BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (§§ 27-50-101 — 27-50-903) › Part 5 - BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ENTITIES (§§ 27-50-501 — 27-50-510) › Section 27-50-502 - Behavioral health entities - minimum standard - rules

(1)
No later than January 1, 2024, the BHA shall promulgate rules pursuant to section
24-4-103
providing minimum standards for the operation of behavioral health entities within the state, including the following:
(a)
Requirements to be met by all behavioral health entities to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of all behavioral health entity consumers, including, at a minimum:
(I)
Requirements for consumer assessment, treatment, care coordination, patient rights, and consumer notice;
(II)
Administrative and operational standards for governance; consumer records and record retention; personnel; admission and discharge criteria; policies and procedures to ensure compliance with regulatory and contract requirements; and quality management;
(III)
Data reporting requirements;
(IV)
Physical plant standards, including infection control; and
(V)
Occurrence reporting requirements pursuant to section
27-50-510
;
(b)
Service-specific requirements that apply only to behavioral health entities electing to provide that service or set of services, including, at a minimum, standards for the specific types of behavioral health safety net services and other behavioral health services along the continuum of care created by the BHA pursuant to part 3 of this article 50, including but not limited to:
(I)
Essential behavioral health safety net provider standards; and
(II)
Comprehensive community behavioral health provider standards;
(c)
Procedures for mandatory BHA inspections of behavioral health entities;
(d)
Procedures for written plans for a behavioral health entity to correct violations found as a result of inspections;
(e)
Intermediate enforcement remedies;
(f)
Factors for behavioral health entities to consider when determining whether an applicant's conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to an offense disqualifies the applicant from employment with the behavioral health entity. The state board of human services may determine which offenses require consideration of these factors.
(g)
Timelines for compliance with behavioral health entity standards that exceed the standards under which a behavioral health entity was previously licensed or approved.
(2)
In approving or rejecting an essential behavioral health safety net provider for eligibility for enhanced service delivery payment, the commissioner shall:
(a)
Require training on and provision of culturally competent and trauma-informed services;
(b)
Consider the adequacy and quality of the services provided, taking into consideration factors such as geographic location, local community need, and availability of workforce;
(c)
Require written policies and procedures on admitting, discharging, triaging, and denying services to clients in alignment with the standards determined by the BHA pursuant to sections
27-50-302
and
27-50-303
;
(d)
Require that overall responsibility for the administration of an essential behavioral health safety net provider be vested in a director who is a physician or a member of one of the licensed mental health professions, unless the provider is only providing recovery support services. If the director is not a licensed physician or licensed mental health professional, the provider shall employ or contract with at least one licensed physician or licensed mental health professional to advise the director on clinical decisions.
(e)
Require that essential behavioral health safety net provider staff include, wherever feasible and appropriate in the discretion of the commissioner, medical staff able to provide medical clearance on site, and other professional staff workers such as psychologists, social workers, educational consultants, peers, community health workers, and nurses, with such qualifications, responsibilities, and experience that corresponds with the size and capacity of the provider; and
(f)
Require that each essential behavioral health safety net provider from which services may be purchased:
(I)
Be under the control and direction of a county or local board of health, a board of directors or board of trustees of a corporation, a for-profit or not-for-profit organization, a regional mental health board, or a political subdivision of the state;
(II)
Be free of conflicts of interest; and
(III)
Enter into a contract developed pursuant to section
27-50-203
and accept publicly funded clients.
(3)
In approving or rejecting a comprehensive community behavioral health provider for eligibility for enhanced service delivery payment, the commissioner shall adhere to the standards for essential behavioral health safety net providers established in subsection (2) of this section, and the commissioner shall also:
(a)
Require that treatment programs of the comprehensive community behavioral health provider be vested in a director who is a physician or a member of one of the licensed mental health professions. The director is not required to provide oversight or direction for recovery services. If the director is not a physician or licensed mental health professional, the provider shall contract with at least one licensed physician or licensed mental health professional to advise the director on clinical decisions.
(b)
Consider whether the comprehensive community behavioral health provider has historically served medically needy or medically indigent patients and demonstrates a commitment to serve low-income and medically indigent populations or, in the case of a sole community provider, serves the medically indigent patients within its medical capability;
(c)
Require the comprehensive community behavioral health provider to waive charges or charge for services on a sliding scale based on income and require that the provider not restrict access or services because of an individual's financial limitations;
(d)
Require the comprehensive community behavioral health provider to serve priority populations;
(e)
Encourage the comprehensive community behavioral health provider to emphasize the care and treatment of individuals recently released from incarceration and hospitals or facilities directed toward assisting individuals with behavioral or mental health disorders in the individual's adjustment to and functioning in the community;
(f)
Require a process for tracking and reporting denials of care; and
(g)
Require that the board in control and direction of the comprehensive community behavioral health provider include voting members that have lived experience with mental health disorders and substance use disorders and parents of children with mental health disorders and substance use disorders.
(4)
In approving or rejecting local general or psychiatric hospitals, nontraditional facilities, innovative care models, and other behavioral health facilities or programs for the purchase or designation of services not provided by essential or comprehensive community behavioral health providers, the commissioner shall consider the following factors:
(a)
The general quality of care provided to patients by such agencies;
(b)
The organization of the medical staff to provide for the integration and coordination of the psychiatric treatment program;
(c)
The provisions for the availability of nursing, psychological, and social services and the existence of an organized program of activities under the direction of an occupational therapist or another qualified person;
(d)
The licensure of such entity by the department of public health and environment or another state agency where applicable;
(e)
The methods by which the agency coordinates its services with those rendered by other agencies to ensure an uninterrupted continuum of care to individuals with behavioral or mental health disorders; and
(f)
The availability of such services to the general public.
(5)
In approving or rejecting behavioral health safety net providers pursuant to subsections (2) and (3) of this section, or other agencies pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, for the purchase of services, the commissioner shall ensure the behavioral health safety net providers and agencies comply with federal financial participation requirements for department-administered programs.
(6)
In addition to these duties, the BHA may promulgate rules related to additional competencies related to serving priority populations. Behavioral health safety net providers approved by the BHA as demonstrating these additional competencies may be eligible for enhanced rates. State agencies shall consider such approved status in determining payment methodologies for services provided.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 206,§ 27, eff. 5/16/2023.
Added by 2022 Ch. 222, § 1, eff. 7/1/2022.