Amendment ID: S2020-2

Amendment 2

Monitoring access to behavioral health services

Ms. Lovely, Mr. Joyce and  Vacant move to amend the bill by inserting the following new section:-

"SECTION XX. The secretary of the executive office of health and human services shall monitor access to behavioral health services for MassHealth members for a period of two years and shall report semiannually to the Attorney General, The Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse and the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means. The report shall include an analysis of benchmarks developed in consultation with the center for health information and analysis, provider associations, consumers and health plans and a comparison of benchmarked data covering Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014. Said benchmarks shall include but not be limited to the number and types of behavioral health providers who participate in public health insurance programs, the number of administrative steps necessary to get access to care, readmissions to inpatient levels of care, utilization and prior authorization requirements, complaints and grievances."