SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2289        FILED ON: 10/19/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2181

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act to ensure access to inpatient psychiatric facilities.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 19, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding after section 24 the following new section:—

Section 25.  Inpatient Psychiatric Reporting.

The commissioner of mental health shall submit a report annually by March 1 to the Governor and the General Court on the status of inpatient psychiatric beds in the commonwealth. The report shall include: (i) data on the capacity of psychiatric inpatient facilities in the commonwealth, by identifying each facility and its location and by identifying on a monthly basis the total number of: (a) inpatient psychiatric beds at that facility by category (juvenile, adult and geriatric), (b) the number of those beds occupied by category, and (c) the number of those beds available by category; (ii) data on projected capacity of inpatient psychiatric facilities in the commonwealth, including anticipated increases and decreases in available beds; (iii) recommendations for designing, implementing and improving programs, services, and capacity in such facilities; and (iv) proposals for statutory and regulatory changes to increase access to inpatient psychiatric health care services, programs and capacity in the commonwealth.  Such report shall be filed with the clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives and shall be forwarded by the clerks to the chairs of the joint committee on mental health and substance abuse and the chairs of the joint committee on health care financing.