Bill Text: NY A04440 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires the commissioner of the office of addiction services and supports to require mental health evaluations for participants in substance use disorder treatment programs and to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate such requirement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to ways and means [A04440 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04440-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4440

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 14, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring  mental
          health  evaluations  for participants in substance use disorder treat-
          ment programs

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Section  19.09  of  the  mental hygiene law is amended by
     2  adding a new subdivision (m) to read as follows:
     3    (m)(1) Notwithstanding any provision  of  law  to  the  contrary,  the
     4  commissioner  shall  require all certified substance use disorder treat-
     5  ment-related programs approved by the office to provide program  partic-
     6  ipants  with  a mental health evaluation conducted by a licensed profes-
     7  sional whose scope of practice includes the diagnosis of  mental  health
     8  disorders  who  shall,  if appropriate, refer the participant for outpa-
     9  tient mental health treatment. Transportation services  to  such  outpa-
    10  tient treatment shall be provided to a participant.
    11    (2)  The office shall establish a bureau of qualified licensed provid-
    12  ers for all licensed professionals as defined in paragraph one  of  this
    13  subdivision  who shall provide such evaluation pursuant to this subdivi-
    14  sion.
    15    (3) As an alternative to the  provisions  of  paragraph  one  of  this
    16  subdivision,  programs  certified  by the office   may choose to utilize
    17  their own employees or independent contractors to provide both the eval-
    18  uation referred to in paragraph one of this subdivision and  the  treat-
    19  ment  of  persons with co-occurring disorders.  Notwithstanding any law,
    20  rule, or regulation to the contrary, the commissioner is  authorized  to
    21  certify such programs for the outpatient treatment of patients diagnosed
    22  with  co-occurring  disorders  provided  in  OASAS-certified facilities,
    23  provided that such  programs  shall  use  only  providers  of  the  type
    24  described in paragraph one of this subdivision.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06661-01-3
        A. 4440                             2

     1    (4)  No primary diagnosis shall be required for a person to be treated
     2  in a program for co-occurring disorders. A mental health diagnosis shall
     3  not be a basis for the denial of admission to, or the expulsion from,  a
     4  certified substance use disorder treatment facility.
     5    (5)  The  commissioner  shall  endeavor  to  ensure  that all existing
     6  provisions of this chapter are  complied  within  the  establishment  of
     7  programs  for  persons with co-occurring disorders, but the commissioner
     8  may, in the course of the regulatory process, determine  that  any  such
     9  provisions  are  an  obstacle  to  fulfillment of effective treatment of
    10  co-occurring disorders and, as such, shall not be part  of  the  certif-
    11  ication process under this article.
    12    (6)  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law to the  contrary, the
    13  bureau established pursuant to paragraph two of this subdivision and the
    14  programs for co-occurring disorders described in paragraph three of this
    15  subdivision, shall have access to all prior substance abuse  and  mental
    16  health  treatment  records for use in the evaluation prescribed in para-
    17  graph  one of this subdivision and all other treatment related purposes.
    18    (7) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations  necessary
    19  for  the  effectuation  of this section, including the use of telehealth
    20  services, appropriate reimbursement for the transportation  referred  to
    21  in this subdivision, and appropriate billing requirements and reimburse-
    22  ment  for  programs  providing  integrated  services to individuals with
    23  co-occurring  disorders  in  an  OASAS-certified  outpatient   facility,
    24  including medical, psychiatric and clinical services.
    25    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.