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Senate committee hears bill to create residential treatment center license for children’s mental health
Summary
Lawmakers and providers told the Senate Public Health Committee a new residential treatment center (RTC) license would fill a gap between psychiatric residential treatment facilities and therapeutic group homes and could increase insurance reimbursement for in‑state care; state officials warned Medicaid payment is constrained by federal rules.
Senator Cuff presented Senate Bill 191 to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee on Jan. 31, 2025, proposing a new health care facility license called a residential treatment center, or RTC, for children who need residential mental‑health services but do not require the most acute psychiatric care.
The bill’s sponsor said the RTC license is intended to ‘‘fill an unmet need for our children’s mental health system’’ by creating a middle level of care between psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) and therapeutic group homes. Proponents from Turning Winds and former state licensure staff said the new license would let more families use private insurance for in‑state residential care.
Turning Winds CEO Owen Basden said his Lincoln County facility treats adolescents who ‘‘do not require full time psychiatric care’’ and that the new license would let providers offer counseling, medication management, substance‑use treatment and nursing services in a residential,…
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