Amendment ID: S2020-40-R1

Redraft Amendment 40

Inpatient Treatment Capacity Assessment

Messrs. Tarr, Montigny, Humason, deMacedo, Ross and Joyce and Mrs. L'Italien move to amend the bill moves to amend the bill by inserting:

Section XX.  Section 1. The Center for Health Information Analysis, acting in collaboration with the Health Policy Commission and the Department of Public Health, shall not later than six months following the passage of this act, and each year by December thirty-first thereafter, conduct an assessment of the capacity for inpatient treatment for substance abuse available to service residents of the Commonwealth. Said assessment shall included but not be limited to:

1. The total number of beds in place, expressed as both an absolute number and in relative terms per capita.

2. The geographical distribution of treatment beds.

3. The average waiting time for a treatment placement, measure as a state-wide figure and by regions of the Commonwealth.

4. Any and all relevant obstacles to obtaining placement in inpatient treatment, including availability of beds, health insurance coverage, geography and transportation.

5. The ability of payors and providers to meet the inpatient treatment requirements of Chapter 258 of the Acts of 2014, An act to Increase Opportunities for Long-term Substance Abuse Recovery, progress made since the passage of said law, and remaining problems or obstacles regarding such compliance.

The results of said assessment together with recommended strategies and legislative recommendations to improve inpatient substance abuse treatment and access thereto, shall be filed with the clerks of the House and Senate, the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means, and the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

Section 2. The provisions of Section 1 shall not expire unless otherwise extended, modified or terminated five years following the passage of this Act.