REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
November 16, 2021
FROM
VERONICA KELLEY, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Single Case Agreement Template for Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve the single case agreement template for Substance Use Disorder treatment services, to be utilized on an as needed basis for treatment of a beneficiary by a service provider, in a total aggregate amount not to exceed $50,000 ($10,000 annually), for the period of November 16, 2021 through December 31, 2026.
2. Authorize the Assistant Executive Officer of Department Operations, the Deputy Executive Officer of Human Services, or the Director of the Department of Behavioral Health to execute the single case agreement template with the individual Substance Use Disorder treatment services providers, and make any non-substantive changes to the template, for the period of November 16, 2021 through December 31, 2026, on behalf of the County, subject to review by County Counsel.
(Presenter: Veronica Kelley, Director, 388-0801)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The aggregate amount of $50,000 ($10,000 annually) for Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment services is funded by Drug Medi-Cal. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) 2021-22 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) issued DBH a corrective action plan for Network Adequacy identifying beneficiaries in very remote locations of San Bernardino County (county) where SUD treatment services would be outside of State mandated time and distance standards for network providers. DBH requested from DHCS an alternative access standard (AAS) whereby if a beneficiary residing in the remote location sought and is in need of SUD treatment services, a single case agreement with a service provider could be utilized to arrange and pay for these needed services. The recommended action will allow DBH to utilize the single case agreement template for treatment services on a single case-by-case basis for these remote locations.
DBH is responsible for providing mental health and/or substance use disorder services to county residents who are experiencing serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders. An integral part of the service delivery system consists of County operated and contracted service providers delivering an array of treatment and supportive services. The Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) provides a continuum of SUD care. The DMC-ODS provides beneficiaries access to the care needed in order to achieve sustainable recovery. The DMC-ODS requires a mechanism to allow a beneficiary transitioning into San Bernardino County’s DMC-ODS system of care to retain their current provider for a period of time if in the absence of continued care the beneficiary would suffer serious detriment to their health, or be at risk of hospitalization or institutionalization. The single case agreement would be utilized for these transition of care requests.
PROCUREMENT
A formal procurement is not applicable for these State mandated services as DBH is required to ensure the availability of SUD treatment services to potential beneficiaries residing in remote areas of the county and transition of care requests are not on-going situations.
The recommended single case agreement template will allow DBH to meet the DHCS regulations and guidelines for AAS and transition of care policies for County Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Behavioral Health Contracts (Ellayna Hoatson, Contracts Supervisor, 388-0858) on October 20, 2021; County Counsel (Dawn Martin, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on October 22, 2021; Finance (Christopher Lange, Administrative Analyst, 386-8393) on October 22, 2021; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on October 26, 2021.