Tom Barton
Apr. 2, 2024 4:10 pm, Updated: Apr. 3, 2024 9:29 am
Kim Reynolds on Feb. 11, 2021, tours the GuideLink Center in Iowa City. The access center, which opened shortly after the governor’s tour, provides crisis evaluation, observation and stabilization to those experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. (The Gazette)" width="" height="" />
DES MOINES — Iowa House lawmakers advanced a redesign Tuesday that would combine the state’s delivery system for mental and behavioral health services, which advocates hope will improve access for patients.
Earlier this year, Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed streamlining and eliminating redundancies in Iowa’s mental health and addiction treatment programs.
House File 2673 would merge Iowa’s treatment networks for mental health and substance use issues into a unified behavioral health system. Currently, the networks are made up of 32 regions in the state — 13 for mental health care and 19 for substance use issues.
heath services for underserved populations in the area, providing patients with access to counseling, prescribers and a place to recover if needed. (The Gazette)" width="" height="" />
The legislation would create seven unified Behavioral Health Districts, answering advocates' calls to treat the issues under combined funding streams.
“This bill brings to fruition the final piece, in my mind, of our behavioral health redesign that we started many, many years ago here in the Statehouse,” said Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola, who led passage of the bill in the House.
The bill passed 88-6, with five Democrats and one Republican opposed. It now heads to the Senate for consideration, where lawmakers are pursuing a similar bill.
Some worry the proposal does not go far enough to address underlying issues that hinder access to treatment and services in the state, including low Medicaid reimbursement rates.
Mental health and substance abuse advocates also have said they have more questions than answers over how services such as mental health access centers — like those in Linn and Johnson counties — would be affected by another shake-up of Iowa’s behavioral health system.
Numerous groups were registered undecided on the bill. The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Iowa, Iowa Mental Health Advocacy and Coalition for Family and Children's Services in Iowa were registered in support.
The state would contract with local administrative service organizations to carry out their services in each of the seven behavioral health districts. The state would solicit proposals from existing agencies that oversee mental health regions, or another public or private entity in the district, to administer the seven new regions.
The bill specifies the new behavioral health districts be created on or before Aug. 1, and organizations selected by Dec. 31 to administer services.
Those districts would handle prevention, education, early intervention, treatment, recovery and crisis services related to both mental health and substance use disorders. Funding would be similar to “block grants,” Fry said. The goal of the new system would be to target funding to measurable outcomes rather than services.
Lawmakers are considering Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' proposal to combine the state's currently separated 32 mental health and substance use districts into seven new Behavioral Health Districts responsible for prevention, education, treatment, recovery and crisis services related to both mental health and substance use disorders.
Each district would be overseen by an advisory board of local providers and government officials to “identify opportunities, address challenges and advise the administrative services organization.”
The bill also would:
Fry said the UI “is on board” with shifting the residency slots to the Des Moines hospitals. “The goal there being getting all of our residency slots filled,” he said
The bill specifies the state’s transition to a unified behavioral health system be completed by July 1, 2025.
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
