SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1725        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 588

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Linda Dorcena Forry

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to behavioral health services.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1725        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 588

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act relative to behavioral health services.

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 118E of the general laws is amended by inserting after Section 9F the following section:-

Section 9G.  The MassHealth program and its contracted managed care organizations and behavioral health subcontractors, as applicable, shall pay for services rendered by participating acute care hospitals to so called boarder patients at no less than 95% of a Medicare inpatient stay.  MassHealth shall cause each Medicaid Managed Care organization contracting with MassHealth to adopt such payment policy consistent with this Act.  MassHealth shall develop and submit a report regarding such payments by provider to the committee on health care finance not later than twelve months after the passage of this act and shall further submit recommendations for improving coordinated care and placement of such patients.   For the purposes of this section, a boarder patient is defined as a patient being held in a hospital emergency department for at least two (2) hours after a physician has made the decision to admit or transfer the patient.