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1    AN ACT concerning health.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Regional Integrated Behavioral Health Networks Act.
 
6    Section 5. Legislative Findings. The General Assembly
7recognizes that an estimated 25% of Illinoisans aged 18 years
8or older have experienced a mental or substance use disorder,
9an estimated 700,000 Illinois adults aged 18 years or older
10have a serious mental illness and an estimated 240,000 Illinois
11children and adolescents have a serious emotional disturbance.
12And on any given day, many go without treatment because it is
13not available or accessible. Recent federal and State fiscal
14crises have exacerbated an already deteriorating mental health
15and substance abuse (behavioral health) treatment system that
16is characterized by fragmentation, geographic disparities,
17inadequate funding, psychiatric and other mental health
18workforce shortages, lack of transportation, and overuse of
19acute and emergency care by persons in crisis who are unable to
20obtain treatment from less intensive community alternatives.
21The failure to treat mental and substance use illnesses has
22human and financial consequences: human suffering and loss of
23function; increased use of hospital emergency departments;

 

 

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1increased use of all medical services; increased unemployment
2and lack of productivity; lack of meaningful engagement in
3family and communities; school failure; homelessness;
4incarceration; and, in some instances, death. The citizens of
5Illinois with mental and substance use illnesses need an
6organized and integrated system of care that recognizes
7regional differences and is able to deliver the right care to
8the right person at the right time.
 
9    Section 10. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to require
10the Department of Human Services to facilitate the creation of
11Regional Integrated Behavioral Health Networks (hereinafter
12"Networks") for the purpose of ensuring and improving access to
13appropriate mental health and substance abuse (hereinafter
14"behavioral health") services throughout Illinois by providing
15a platform for the organization of all relevant health, mental
16health, substance abuse, and other community entities, and by
17providing a mechanism to use and channel financial and other
18resources efficiently and effectively. Networks may be located
19in each of the Department of Human Services geographic regions.
 
20    Section 15. Goals. Goals shall include, but not be limited
21to, the following: enabling persons with mental and substance
22use illnesses to access clinically appropriate, evidence-based
23services, regardless of where they reside in the State and
24particularly in rural areas; improving access to mental health

 

 

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1and substance abuse services throughout Illinois, but
2especially in rural Illinois communities, by fostering
3innovative financing and collaboration among a variety of
4health, behavioral health, social service, and other community
5entities and by supporting the development of
6regional-specific planning and strategies; facilitating the
7integration of behavioral health services with primary and
8other medical services, advancing opportunities under federal
9health reform initiatives; ensuring actual or
10technologically-assisted access to the entire continuum of
11integrated care, including the provision of services in the
12areas of prevention, consumer or patient assessment and
13diagnosis, psychiatric care, case coordination, crisis and
14emergency care, acute inpatient and outpatient treatment in
15private hospitals and from other community providers, support
16services, and community residential settings; identifying
17funding for persons who do not have insurance and do not
18qualify for State and federal healthcare payment programs such
19as Medicaid or Medicare; and improving access to transportation
20in rural areas.
 
21    Section 20. Steering Committee and Networks.
22    (a) To achieve these goals, the Department of Human
23Services shall convene a Regional Integrated Behavioral Health
24Networks Steering Committee (hereinafter "Steering Committee")
25comprised of State agencies involved in the provision,

 

 

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1regulation, or financing of health, mental health, substance
2abuse, rehabilitation, and other services. These include, but
3shall not be limited to, the following agencies:
4        (1) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
5        (2) The Department of Human Services and its Divisions
6    of Mental Illness and Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
7    Services.
8        (3) The Department of Public Health, including its
9    Center for Rural Health.
10    The Steering Committee shall include a representative from
11each Network. The agencies of the Steering Committee are
12directed to work collaboratively to provide consultation,
13advice, and leadership to the Networks in facilitating
14communication within and across multiple agencies and in
15removing regulatory barriers that may prevent Networks from
16accomplishing the goals. The Steering Committee collectively
17or through one of its member Agencies shall also provide
18technical assistance to the Networks.
19    (b) There also shall be convened Networks in each of the
20Department of Human Services' regions comprised of
21representatives of community stakeholders represented in the
22Network, including when available, but not limited to, relevant
23trade and professional associations representing hospitals,
24community providers, public health care, hospice care, long
25term care, law enforcement, emergency medical service,
26physicians trained in psychiatry; an organization that

 

 

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1advocates on behalf of federally qualified health centers, an
2organization that advocates on behalf of persons suffering with
3mental illness and substance abuse disorders, an organization
4that advocates on behalf of persons with disabilities, an
5organization that advocates on behalf of persons who live in
6rural areas, an organization that advocates on behalf of
7persons who live in medically underserved areas; and others
8designated by the Steering Committee or the Networks. A member
9from each Network may choose a representative who may serve on
10the Steering Committee.
 
11    Section 25. Development of Network Plans. Each Network
12shall develop a plan for its respective region that addresses
13the following:
14    (a) Inventory of all mental health and substance abuse
15treatment services, primary health care facilities and
16services, private hospitals, State-operated psychiatric
17hospitals, long term care facilities, social services,
18transportation services, and any services available to serve
19persons with mental and substance use illnesses.
20    (b) Identification of unmet community needs, including,
21but not limited to, the following:
22        (1) Waiting lists in community mental health and
23    substance abuse services.
24        (2) Hospital emergency department use by persons with
25    mental and substance use illnesses, including volume,

 

 

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1    length of stay, and challenges associated with obtaining
2    psychiatric assessment.
3        (3) Difficulty obtaining admission to inpatient
4    facilities, and reasons therefore.
5        (4) Availability of primary care providers in the
6    community, including Federally Qualified Health Centers
7    and Rural Health Centers.
8        (5) Availability of psychiatrists and mental health
9    professionals.
10        (6) Transportation issues.
11        (7) Other.
12    (c) Identification of opportunities to improve access to
13mental and substance abuse services through the integration of
14specialty behavioral health services with primary care,
15including, but not limited to, the following:
16        (1) Availability of Federally Qualified Health Centers
17    in community with mental health staff.
18        (2) Development of accountable care organizations or
19    other primary care entities.
20        (3) Availability of acute care hospitals with
21    specialized psychiatric capacity.
22        (4) Community providers with an interest in
23    collaborating with acute care providers.
24    (d) Development of a plan to address community needs,
25including a specific timeline for implementation of specific
26objectives and establishment of evaluation measures. The

 

 

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1comprehensive plan should include the complete continuum of
2behavioral health services, including, but not limited to, the
3following:
4        (1) Prevention.
5        (2) Client assessment and diagnosis.
6        (3) An array of outpatient behavioral health services.
7        (4) Case coordination.
8        (5) Crisis and emergency services.
9        (6) Treatment, including inpatient psychiatric
10    services in public and private hospitals.
11        (7) Long term care facilities.
12        (8) Community residential alternatives to
13    institutional settings.
14        (9) Primary care services.
 
15    Section 30. Timeline. The Network plans shall be prepared
16within 6 months of establishment of the Network. The Steering
17Committee shall assist the Networks in the development of plans
18by providing technical expertise and in facilitating funding
19support and opportunities for the development of services
20identified under each of the plans.
 
21    Section 35. Report to Governor and General Assembly. The
22Steering Committee shall report to the Governor and General
23Assembly the status of each regional plan, including the
24recommendations of the Network Councils to accomplish their

 

 

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1goals and improve access to behavioral health services. The
2report shall also contain performance measures, including
3changes to the behavioral health services capacity in the
4region; any waiting lists for community services; volume and
5wait times in hospital emergency departments for access to
6behavioral health services; development of primary
7care-behavioral health partnerships or barriers to their
8formation; and funding challenges and opportunities. This
9report shall be submitted on an annual basis.
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
111, 2012.