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9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This concurrent resolution urges Congress to extend Medicaid coverage beyond 15 days
12 for services provided in certain settings to adults with serious mental illness.
13 Highlighted Provisions:
14 This resolution:
15 ▸ urges Congress to extend Medicaid coverage beyond 15 days for services provided
16 in certain settings to adults with serious mental illness.
17 Special Clauses:
18 None
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20 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
21 WHEREAS, the scope of medical and behavioral health care services covered by Utah's
22 Medicaid program is determined in large measure by federal law;
23 WHEREAS, for many years, federal law has prohibited coverage of services provided
24 to adults with serious mental illness in an institution for mental disease (IMD), which is an
25 inpatient residential facility having more than 16 beds;
26 WHEREAS, the federal prohibition long ago achieved its intended purpose of shifting
27 treatment of mental illness from IMDs to outpatient and small residential inpatient settings;
28 WHEREAS, in 2016, federal regulators authorized coverage of services provided in
29 IMDs for up to 15 days in a month under certain circumstances;
30 WHEREAS, treatment for more than 15 days in the Utah State Hospital, specialty
31 psychiatric hospitals, or other IMDs is still the most medically appropriate intervention for a
32 small number of Utahns who do not respond to outpatient treatment, inpatient treatment in a
33 small residential setting, or short-term treatment in an IMD;
34 WHEREAS, many of these individuals are ravaged by the recurring effects of serious
35 mental illness because they are unable to receive appropriate treatment in an IMD, due to the
36 federal coverage limit;
37 WHEREAS, the federal government and the state of Utah unnecessarily expend
38 significant sums of public revenue by repeatedly arresting, incarcerating, treating, and housing
39 a small number of individuals who fail to receive appropriate treatment for a serious mental
40 illness; and
41 WHEREAS, society suffers when those who could be restored to a stable, fulfilling life
42 go untreated due to outdated policies:
43 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
44 Governor concurring therein, urges Congress to extend Medicaid coverage beyond 15 days for
45 services provided in an IMD to adults with serious mental illness.
46 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to Utah's
47 congressional delegation and the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.