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Chapter 254B

Section 254B.05

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254B.05 VENDOR ELIGIBILITY.

Subdivision 1.Licensure required.

Programs licensed by the commissioner are eligible vendors. Hospitals may apply for and receive licenses to be eligible vendors, notwithstanding the provisions of section 245A.03. American Indian programs that provide chemical dependency primary treatment, extended care, transitional residence, or outpatient treatment services, and are licensed by tribal government are eligible vendors. Detoxification programs are not eligible vendors. Programs that are not licensed as a chemical dependency residential or nonresidential treatment program by the commissioner or by tribal government or do not meet the requirements of subdivisions 1a and 1b are not eligible vendors.

Subd. 1a.Room and board provider requirements.

(a) Effective January 1, 2000, vendors of room and board are eligible for chemical dependency fund payment if the vendor:

(1) has rules prohibiting residents bringing chemicals into the facility or using chemicals while residing in the facility and provide consequences for infractions of those rules;

(2) is determined to meet applicable health and safety requirements;

(3) is not a jail or prison;

(4) is not concurrently receiving funds under chapter 256I for the recipient;

(5) admits individuals who are 18 years of age or older;

(6) is registered as a board and lodging or lodging establishment according to section 157.17;

(7) has awake staff on site 24 hours per day;

(8) has staff who are at least 18 years of age and meet the requirements of Minnesota Rules, part 9530.6450, subpart 1, item A;

(9) has emergency behavioral procedures that meet the requirements of Minnesota Rules, part 9530.6475;

(10) meets the requirements of Minnesota Rules, part 9530.6435, subparts 3 and 4, items A and B, if administering medications to clients;

(11) meets the abuse prevention requirements of section 245A.65, including a policy on fraternization and the mandatory reporting requirements of section 626.557;

(12) documents coordination with the treatment provider to ensure compliance with section 254B.03, subdivision 2;

(13) protects client funds and ensures freedom from exploitation by meeting the provisions of section 245A.04, subdivision 13;

(14) has a grievance procedure that meets the requirements of Minnesota Rules, part 9530.6470, subpart 2; and

(15) has sleeping and bathroom facilities for men and women separated by a door that is locked, has an alarm, or is supervised by awake staff.

(b) Programs licensed according to Minnesota Rules, chapter 2960, are exempt from paragraph (a), clauses (5) to (15).

Subd. 1b.Additional vendor requirements.

Vendors must comply with the following duties:

(1) maintain a provider agreement with the department;

(2) continually comply with the standards in the agreement;

(3) participate in the Drug Alcohol Normative Evaluation System;

(4) submit an annual financial statement which reports functional expenses of chemical dependency treatment costs in a form approved by the commissioner;

(5) report information about the vendor's current capacity in a manner prescribed by the commissioner; and

(6) maintain adequate and appropriate insurance coverage necessary to provide chemical dependency treatment services, and at a minimum:

(i) employee dishonesty in the amount of $10,000 if the vendor has or had custody or control of money or property belonging to clients; and

(ii) bodily injury and property damage in the amount of $2,000,000 for each occurrence.

Subd. 2.Regulatory methods.

(a) Where appropriate and feasible, the commissioner shall identify and implement alternative methods of regulation and enforcement to the extent authorized in this subdivision. These methods shall include:

(1) expansion of the types and categories of licenses that may be granted;

(2) when the standards of an independent accreditation body have been shown to predict compliance with the rules, the commissioner shall consider compliance with the accreditation standards to be equivalent to partial compliance with the rules; and

(3) use of an abbreviated inspection that employs key standards that have been shown to predict full compliance with the rules.

(b) The commissioner shall work with the commissioners of health, public safety, administration, and education in consolidating duplicative licensing and certification rules and standards if the commissioner determines that consolidation is administratively feasible, would significantly reduce the cost of licensing, and would not reduce the protection given to persons receiving services in licensed programs. Where administratively feasible and appropriate, the commissioner shall work with the commissioners of health, public safety, administration, and education in conducting joint agency inspections of programs.

(c) The commissioner shall work with the commissioners of health, public safety, administration, and education in establishing a single point of application for applicants who are required to obtain concurrent licensure from more than one of the commissioners listed in this clause.

Subd. 3.Fee reductions.

If the commissioner determines that the methods in subdivision 2, clause (2) or (3), can be used in licensing a program, the commissioner shall reduce licensure fees by up to 50 percent. The commissioner may adopt rules to provide for the reduction of fees when a license holder substantially exceeds the basic standards for licensure.

Subd. 4.Regional treatment centers.

Regional treatment center chemical dependency treatment units are eligible vendors. The commissioner may expand the capacity of chemical dependency treatment units beyond the capacity funded by direct legislative appropriation to serve individuals who are referred for treatment by counties and whose treatment will be paid for by funding under this chapter or other funding sources. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 254B.03 to 254B.041, payment for any person committed at county request to a regional treatment center under chapter 253B for chemical dependency treatment and determined to be ineligible under the chemical dependency consolidated treatment fund, shall become the responsibility of the county.

Subd. 5.Rate requirements.

(a) The commissioner shall establish rates for chemical dependency services and service enhancements funded under this chapter.

(b) Eligible chemical dependency treatment services include:

(1) outpatient treatment services that are licensed according to Minnesota Rules, parts 9530.6405 to 9530.6480, or applicable tribal license;

(2) medication-assisted therapy services that are licensed according to Minnesota Rules, parts 9530.6405 to 9530.6480 and 9530.6500, or applicable tribal license;

(3) medication-assisted therapy plus enhanced treatment services that meet the requirements of clause (2) and provide nine hours of clinical services each week;

(4) high, medium, and low intensity residential treatment services that are licensed according to Minnesota Rules, parts 9530.6405 to 9530.6480 and 9530.6505, or applicable tribal license which provide, respectively, 30, 15, and five hours of clinical services each week;

(5) hospital-based treatment services that are licensed according to Minnesota Rules, parts 9530.6405 to 9530.6480, or applicable tribal license and licensed as a hospital under sections 144.50 to 144.56;

(6) adolescent treatment programs that are licensed as outpatient treatment programs according to Minnesota Rules, parts 9530.6405 to 9530.6485, or as residential treatment programs according to Minnesota Rules, parts 2960.0010 to 2960.0220, and 2960.0430 to 2960.0490, or applicable tribal license;

(7) high-intensity residential treatment services that are licensed according to Minnesota Rules, parts 9530.6405 to 9530.6480 and 9530.6505, or applicable tribal license, which provide 30 hours of clinical services each week provided by a state-operated vendor or to clients who have been civilly committed to the commissioner, present the most complex and difficult care needs, and are a potential threat to the community; and

(8) room and board facilities that meet the requirements of subdivision 1a.

(c) The commissioner shall establish higher rates for programs that meet the requirements of paragraph (b) and one of the following additional requirements:

(1) programs that serve parents with their children if the program:

(i) provides on-site child care during the hours of treatment activity that:

(A) is licensed under chapter 245A as a child care center under Minnesota Rules, chapter 9503; or

(B) meets the licensure exclusion criteria of section 245A.03, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (6), and meets the requirements under Minnesota Rules, part 9530.6490, subpart 4; or

(ii) arranges for off-site child care during hours of treatment activity at a facility that is licensed under chapter 245A as:

(A) a child care center under Minnesota Rules, chapter 9503; or

(B) a family child care home under Minnesota Rules, chapter 9502;

(2) culturally specific programs as defined in section 254B.01, subdivision 4a, or programs or subprograms serving special populations, if the program or subprogram meets the following requirements:

(i) is designed to address the unique needs of individuals who share a common language, racial, ethnic, or social background;

(ii) is governed with significant input from individuals of that specific background; and

(iii) employs individuals to provide individual or group therapy, at least 50 percent of whom are of that specific background, except when the common social background of the individuals served is a traumatic brain injury or cognitive disability and the program employs treatment staff who have the necessary professional training, as approved by the commissioner, to serve clients with the specific disabilities that the program is designed to serve;

(3) programs that offer medical services delivered by appropriately credentialed health care staff in an amount equal to two hours per client per week if the medical needs of the client and the nature and provision of any medical services provided are documented in the client file; and

(4) programs that offer services to individuals with co-occurring mental health and chemical dependency problems if:

(i) the program meets the co-occurring requirements in Minnesota Rules, part 9530.6495;

(ii) 25 percent of the counseling staff are licensed mental health professionals, as defined in section 245.462, subdivision 18, clauses (1) to (6), or are students or licensing candidates under the supervision of a licensed alcohol and drug counselor supervisor and licensed mental health professional, except that no more than 50 percent of the mental health staff may be students or licensing candidates with time documented to be directly related to provisions of co-occurring services;

(iii) clients scoring positive on a standardized mental health screen receive a mental health diagnostic assessment within ten days of admission;

(iv) the program has standards for multidisciplinary case review that include a monthly review for each client that, at a minimum, includes a licensed mental health professional and licensed alcohol and drug counselor, and their involvement in the review is documented;

(v) family education is offered that addresses mental health and substance abuse disorders and the interaction between the two; and

(vi) co-occurring counseling staff shall receive eight hours of co-occurring disorder training annually.

(d) In order to be eligible for a higher rate under paragraph (c), clause (1), a program that provides arrangements for off-site child care must maintain current documentation at the chemical dependency facility of the child care provider's current licensure to provide child care services. Programs that provide child care according to paragraph (c), clause (1), must be deemed in compliance with the licensing requirements in Minnesota Rules, part 9530.6490.

(e) Adolescent residential programs that meet the requirements of Minnesota Rules, parts 2960.0430 to 2960.0490 and 2960.0580 to 2960.0690, are exempt from the requirements in paragraph (c), clause (4), items (i) to (iv).

(f) Subject to federal approval, chemical dependency services that are otherwise covered as direct face-to-face services may be provided via two-way interactive video. The use of two-way interactive video must be medically appropriate to the condition and needs of the person being served. Reimbursement shall be at the same rates and under the same conditions that would otherwise apply to direct face-to-face services. The interactive video equipment and connection must comply with Medicare standards in effect at the time the service is provided.

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