NC H1799

Requires the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services to establish a pilot project within four local management entities (LMEs) to evaluate independent assessments for service eligibility determination.

Mandates selection of four LMEs: two that conduct independent assessments (one with and one without utilization management responsibilities) and two comparable control LMEs conducting non-independent assessments.

Requires submission of an interim implementation report by October 1, 2010, and a final report by October 1, 2011, comparing costs, client numbers, service recommendations, and utilization data between independent and non-independent assessment sites.

Direct assessment processes should be as identical as possible between sites except for the independence status of the professional conducting the assessment.