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2020 Session

Budget Amendments - HB30 (Committee Approved)

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Limit Temporary Beds at Catawba Hospital & Provide Community Alternatives (language only)

Item 326 #2h

Item 326 #2h

Health and Human Resources
Mental Health Treatment Centers

Language

Page 341, after line 37, insert:

"D.1.  It is the intent of the General Assembly that funding in Items 323 through 328 shall not be used to operate an additional 28 beds above the number of operational beds on June 30, 2020 at Catawba Hospital during the 2020-22 biennium.  The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) may use such funding to pursue alternative in-patient options to include (i) alternative private inpatient settings for individuals who would otherwise be admitted to a DBHDS hospital and (ii) nursing homes or other specialized settings providing appropriate levels of care upon discharge for said individuals. Amounts authorized here in Items 323-328 can be used to support these public-private partnerships, to include contracts with private entities.  The department shall notify the Governor and the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees prior to signing any contract or entering into such an agreement."



Explanation

(This amendment adds language prohibiting the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to operate an additional 28 beds at Catawba Hospital during the 2020-22 biennium above the number of beds operational as of June 30, 2020. Language provides the Department with the flexibility to use such funding, which would have otherwise been used to fund an additional 28 beds at the facility in fiscal year 2021 (estimated at $4.2 million from the general fund the first year and $5.2 million from the general fund the second year) to pursue alternatives to state institutional care through public-private partnerships. The department is required to notify the Governor and the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees prior to signing any contract or entering into such an agreement.)