SB 22-177

Senate Bill 22-177, titled "Investments in Care Coordination Infrastructure," aims to improve mental health and substance use services in Colorado by creating a cloud-based platform that allows healthcare providers to better coordinate care for patients. This bill requires the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) to provide navigators who can help individuals access needed behavioral health services through both online platforms and specific regional locations. It also mandates training for these navigators and ensures that the process of enrolling and credentialing them is as simple as possible. The bill allocates $12.2 million from a dedicated fund to support this infrastructure, but it will only take effect if another related bill (House Bill 22-1278) also becomes law. Since the status of SB 22-177 is "signed," its provisions have been enacted into law and are now in place to improve care coordination for mental health and substance use services across Colorado.

Official Summary

The act requires the statewide care coordination infrastructure to include a cloud-based platform to allow providers that do not utilize an electronic health record to actively participate in the care coordination infrastructure. The act requires the behavioral health administration (BHA) to: Ensure navigators are available through the statewide care coordination infrastructure website and mobile application, as well as in specific regional locations; and Utilize behavioral health administrative service organizations to help individuals and families initiate care and ensure timely access to services. To implement the care coordination infrastructure, the act requires the BHA to train new and existing navigators on behavioral health safety net system services, behavioral health service delivery procedures, and social determinants of health resources; ensure that the care coordination infrastructure can direct individuals where to seek in-person or virtual navigation support; ensure that the administrative burden associated with provider enrollment and credentialing for navigators and care coordination providers is minimal; include a summary of outcomes for individuals who access the infrastructure in the BHA's annual report; and ensure the 988 crisis hotline responds to anyone experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, documents referrals and transfers of care of persons with one or more community-based service providers, and includes connections to available behavioral health systems and services. Beginning January 2025, and each January thereafter, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing to assess the care coordination services provided by managed care entities and provide a report as part of its State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act hearing. The act appropriates $12.2 million from the behavioral and mental health cash fund to the department of human services for use by the behavioral health administration for the care coordination infrastructure. The act only takes effect if House Bill 22-1278, which creates the behavioral health administration, becomes law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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