(1) No
later than July 1, 2024, the BHA, in collaboration with the department of health care
policy and financing and the department of public health and environment, shall
establish a comprehensive and standardized behavioral health safety net system
throughout the state that must include behavioral health safety net services for
children, youth, and adults, including adults who have a serious mental illness and
children and youth who have a serious emotional disturbance, along a continuum of
care.
(2) The BHA shall ensure that all Coloradans have access to the behavioral
health safety net system, which must:
(a) Proactively engage priority populations with adequate case management
and care coordination throughout the care continuum;
(b) Promote competency in de-escalation techniques;
(c) Develop, maintain, and utilize adequate networks for timely access to
treatment, including high-intensity behavioral health treatment and community-based treatment for children, youth, and adults;
(d) Require collaboration with all state and local law enforcement
jurisdictions and counties in the service area, including judicial districts and county
departments of human or social services;
(e) Triage individuals who need services outside the scope of the behavioral
health safety net system;
(f) Incorporate and demonstrate trauma-informed care practices;
(g) Promote patient-centered care and cultural awareness;
(h) Update information as requested by the BHA about available treatment
options and outcomes in each region of the state;
(i) Prioritize relevant programs or services eligible for federal grants or
reimbursement, including relevant programs or services identified in the federal
Title IV-E prevention services clearinghouse;
(j) Utilize evidence-based or evidence-informed programming to promote
quality services; and
(k) Meet any other criteria established by the BHA.
(3) In establishing the standardized and comprehensive behavioral health
safety net system, the BHA shall:
(a) In collaboration with state agencies and the advisory council created
pursuant to section 27-50-701, establish and routinely assess what types of
behavioral health services are provided on a community, regional, and statewide
basis for children, youth, and adults. The BHA shall ensure that, at a minimum, the
following behavioral health safety net services are available for children, youth, and
adults statewide:
(I) Emergency or crisis behavioral health services;
(II) Mental health and substance use outpatient services;
(III) Behavioral health high-intensity outpatient services;
(IV) Behavioral health residential services;
(V) Withdrawal management services;
(VI) Behavioral health inpatient services;
(VII) Mental health and substance use recovery supports;
(VIII) Integrated care services;
(IX) Care management;
(X) Outreach, education, and engagement services;
(XI) Outpatient competency restoration;
(XII) Care coordination;
(XIII) Hospital alternatives;
(XIV) Screening, assessment, and diagnosis, including risk assessment, crisis
planning, and monitoring to key health indicators; and
(XV) Additional services that the BHA determines are necessary in a region
or throughout the state.
(b) When routinely assessing the services available regionally and statewide,
as required in subsection (3)(a) of this section, assess adequacy of funding and
resources necessary to implement the behavioral health system plan pursuant to
section 27-50-204;
(c) Set clinical and practice standards and health, safety, and welfare
standards, including standards specific to children and youth, when appropriate,
through the licensing of behavioral health entities and the approval of behavioral
health safety net providers;
(d) Establish statewide, regional, and local behavioral health network
adequacy standards, including standards specific to children and youth, when
appropriate; and
(e) Implement a behavioral health administrative services organization
structure pursuant to part 4 of this article 50.
(4) Except as provided in section 27-50-303, behavioral health safety net
providers shall not refuse to treat an individual based on the individual's:
(a) Insurance coverage, lack of insurance coverage, or ability to pay;
(b) Clinical acuity level related to the individual's behavioral health condition
or conditions, including whether the individual has been certified for short-term
treatment or long-term care and treatment pursuant to article 65 of this title 27;
(c) Readiness to transition out of the Colorado mental health institute at
Pueblo, the Colorado mental health institute at Fort Logan, or any other mental
health institute or licensed facility providing inpatient psychiatric services or acute
care hospital providing stabilization because the individual no longer requires
inpatient care and treatment;
(d) Involvement in the criminal or juvenile justice system;
(e) Current involvement in the child welfare system;
(f) Co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, physical
disability, or intellectual or developmental disability, irrespective of primary
diagnosis, co-occurring conditions, or if an individual requires assistance with
activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living, as defined in section
12-270-104 (6);
(g) Displays of aggressive behavior, or history of aggressive behavior, as a
symptom of a diagnosed mental health disorder or substance use disorder;
(h) Clinical presentation or behavioral presentation in any previous
interaction with a provider;
(i) Place of residence; or
(j) Disability, age, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or tribal affiliation.
(5) The BHA may promulgate rules or determine other appropriate processes
to approve behavioral health providers as behavioral health safety net providers.
Behavioral health providers that do not hold a license from the BHA but are
otherwise licensed or authorized to provide behavioral health services in the state
of Colorado are eligible to be approved as behavioral health safety net providers.