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Committee advances House Bill 3 to ease CON limits, add psychiatric beds and extend UNMC facility rules
Summary
The Senate Public Health Committee voted to pass House Bill 3, which removes a Medicaid participation prohibition for a DeSoto County psychiatric residential treatment facility, authorizes 20 additional beds in Madison County, and clarifies a provision affecting UNMC; the panel used a voice vote and directed the Department of Health to study implementation details.
The Senate Public Health Committee passed House Bill 3 by voice vote after the chair summarized the measure as largely similar to last year’s vetoed version and described targeted clarifications. The chair told members the bill "removes prohibition on psychiatric residential treatment facility in DeSoto County from participating in the Medicaid program" and would "issue 20 additional beds for the facility in Madison County." The measure also clarifies language related to UNMC and the effective date of certain provisions.
Committee members pressed for detail about how the bill would enforce a proposed treatment or fee requirement for uninsured patients, with Senator Hill asking "who is gonna determine the fee in lieu?" Committee leaders said the Department of Health is tasked to study implementation options and that specific percentages or fee amounts are not specified in the bill text. The committee recorded the passage by voice vote; no roll-call tally was given in the transcript. The chair said the goal is to send the bill to the governor quickly so other CON legislation can proceed.
