Oregon will soon be spending at least $350 million to try to address behavioral health problems across the state. This may be considered an insincere effort to truly fix the problem according to some observers who criticize some of Oregon's latest political moves, including the recent decriminalization of all drugs in the state.

HB 2086 is awaiting Governor Kate Brown's signature. The legislation would supposedly work to coordinate mental health care systems around the state of Oregon, and it seems to also implement some collectivist notions based on skin color.

HB 2086 will appropriate public money to do the following:

• Require the Oregon Health Authority to establish peer and community-driven programs that provide culturally specific and culturally responsive behavioral health services that are directly responsive to (and driven by) people of color, tribal communities and people of lived experience.
• Increase funding to reintegrate criminal defendants found unfit to proceed in criminal proceeding into communities.
• Appropriate moneys to authority to construct and operate secure residential treatment facility to serve up to 39 individuals.
• Require the authority to reimburse cost of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder treatment paid for on fee-for-service basis at enhanced rate based on specified factors.
• Require authority to conduct study of reimbursement rates for co-occurring disorder treatments and study of Medicaid rates paid for behavioral health services compared to physical health services and rates paid for addiction treatment services compared to mental health services.
• Impose requirements on authority regarding reimbursement for services provided by mental and behavioral health providers to medical assistance recipients.
• Require the authority to continually evaluate and revise administrative rules to reduce regulatory burden on providers.
• Direct the authority to adopt rules requiring coordinated care organizations to provide housing navigation services and address social determinants of health through care coordination.
• Require intensive behavioral health treatment providers, coordinated care organizations and insurers to collect and report to authority data regarding access to intensive behavioral health treatment for children and adolescents with high acuity behavioral health needs.
• Require authority to contract with third-party vendor to survey medical assistance recipients about their experiences with behavioral health care and services.
• Require the Oregon Health Policy Board, by February 1, 2022, to establish Behavioral Health Committee consisting of specified members to establish quality metrics for behavioral health services provided by coordinated care organizations and providers.
• Requires authority to make specified reports to Legislative Assembly.

This bill, HB 2086, was drafted at the request of Governor Kate Brown for Oregon Health Authority, along with a declared emergency, which makes the law effective upon passage.


--Bruce Armstrong

Post Date: 2021-07-26 12:33:27

Last Update: 2021-07-26 20:42:23