SB 1238 (Eggman, D-Stockton)

SB 1238 expands the definition of a “designated facility” in the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act to include facilities that both (1) have appropriate services, personnel, and security to safely treat individuals being held involuntarily and (2) are licensed or certified as a skilled-nursing facility, mental health rehabilitation center, or a facility capable of providing medically monitored or managed intensive inpatient treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). In addition, this bill requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to authorize licensed psychiatric health facilities and licensed mental health rehabilitation centers to admit individuals diagnosed only with a SUD. This bill requires DHCS to ensure that designated facilities are reimbursed for evaluation and treatment of stand-alone SUDs at rates equivalent to those provided for evaluation and treatment of mental health disorders.