BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair AB 2374 (Mansoor) - Substance abuse: recovery and treatment services. Amended: July 1, 2014 Policy Vote: Health 8-0 Urgency: No Mandate: No Hearing Date: August 14, 2014 Consultant: Brendan McCarthy SUSPENSE FILE. Bill Summary: AB 2374 would require deaths at licensed residential treatment facilities to be reported to the Department of Health Care Services in a timely manner. The bill would require private organizations that register or certify substance abuse counsellors to verify that an applicant has not had another registration or certification revoked. Fiscal Impact (as approved on August 14, 2014): One-time costs up to $250,000 to revise regulations and verify that certifying organizations comply with the requirements of the bill (General Fund and federal funds). Minor ongoing costs to periodically review policies and performance of certifying organizations (General Fund and federal funds). Background: Under current law, the Department of Health Care Services licenses adult residential treatment facilities for substance abuse treatment. Residential treatment facilities provide 24-hour, non-medical services to adults recovering from drug and/or alcohol abuse. Current regulations require residential treatment facilities to report deaths, injuries, and other incidents by telephone within one working day with a written report within seven working days Under current law, drug and alcohol counsellors are not required to be licensed health care professionals. Current regulation requires drug and alcohol counsellors who are not licensed health care professionals to be registered or certified by one of several private certifying organizations approved by the AB 2374 (Mansoor) Page 1 Department. Before certifying an applicant as a drug and alcohol counsellor, those organizations are required to verify with all other approved certifying organizations that an applicant has not had a prior registration or certification revoked. Proposed Law: AB 2374 would require deaths at licensed residential treatment facilities to be reported to the Department of Health Care Services in a timely manner. The bill would require reports to the Department of a resident death to include information on the event, information on actions taken in response by the facility, and proposed follow-up actions. The bill would require counselors (except licensed health care professionals) to be registered or certified by a certifying organization approved by the Department. The bill would require private organizations that register or certify substance abuse counsellors to verify that an applicant has not had another registration or certification revoked. Related Legislation: AB 40 (Mansoor) would have required residential treatment facilities to report resident deaths to the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (the predecessor to the Department of Health Care Services for this program) and would have required medical detoxification services to be provided under the supervision of a medical doctor. That bill was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee's Suspense File. Staff Comments: The requirements of this bill largely codify existing regulations. However, concerns have been raised that the Department has not actively ensured that certifying organizations are verifying that applicants have not previously had a certification revoked. It is likely that the Department will incur additional staff work to verify that certifying organizations are following the requirements of this bill. Author's amendments: would require the Department to adopt implementing regulations by 2018, but would allow the Department to implement the bill thorough all-county letters until then, and would make technical and clarifying changes. AB 2374 (Mansoor) Page 2