Senate Bill 16-201 Summary

• State Department of Human Services shall develop a Medicaid-compliant rate-setting process for residential treatment service providers in conjunction with a group of representatives from counties and the provider community, with approval by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing for Medicaid-funded rates.

• State Department must submit initial reports to the Joint Budget Committee by January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, detailing the rate-setting process and implementation timeline, with biennial reviews of any recommended changes.

• Child Welfare Allocations Committee must consider developing an allocations model based on recommendations from a stakeholder group by June 15, 2017, and this bill does not supersede the committee's statutory authority.

• State Department shall convene a group representing state agencies, counties, providers, and the Joint Budget Committee by August 1, 2016, to review provider compensation rate-setting and submit recommendations by December 15, 2016, on whether changes are advisable.

• Child Welfare Allocations Committee must evaluate restructuring of child welfare funding policy by August 1, 2016, with stakeholder input, and submit findings and recommendations to the Joint Budget Committee by December 15, 2016, including consideration of staffing, flexibility, employee retention, and allocation sufficiency.