SENATE DOCKET, NO. 599        FILED ON: 1/13/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 741

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 6A, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding after section 16G the following new section:—

Section 16H.  Inpatient Psychiatric Reporting.

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services shall submit a report annually by July 1 to the Governor and the General Court on the number of inpatient psychiatric beds in the commonwealth.  The report shall include: (i) data on the current capacity of psychiatric inpatient facilities in the commonwealth, delineating between institutions with current capacity to accept new patients and institutions at or over capacity; (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.