BILL #    HB 2706	TITLE: mental health; intensive treatment orders
SPONSOR:    Hernandez C	STATUS: House Engrossed
PREPARED BY:    Destin Moss

Description

The bill would allow the Courts to enter an order for intensive mental health treatment services if the court finds that a patient is seriously mentally ill and chronically resistant to treatment.

Estimated Impact

The bill may generate additional costs at the state and local levels to pay the cost of treatment services and for any increase in administrative costs associated with the bill. The total impact will ultimately depend on the frequency with which the Courts utilize orders for intensive mental health treatment services, and we are unable to estimate the magnitude in advance.

We have requested impact estimates from AHCCCS, the County Supervisors Association, and the Administrative Office of the Courts, but we have not yet received responses.

Analysis

Current law allows the courts to order a patient to undergo varying levels of outpatient or inpatient treatment if the patient is determined to be a danger to self or others or is unwilling or unable to accept treatment.

Intensive mental health treatment services allowed under the bill would include an intensive care case manager to facilitate outpatient treatment services, residential placement, medically necessary nonemergency transportation to access services in the treatment plan, and any treatment services for which the patient is eligible and are believed to be necessary. To the extent that additional staff hours are needed to evaluate and monitor patients, costs to the Courts may increase. To the extent that care is being provided to patients under the bill that would not have been provided under existing law, healthcare expenses to AHCCCS may be impacted.

Local Government Impact

Costs to the counties may increase to the extent that the counties are required to pay expenses for intensive mental health treatment services that are not covered by state Medicaid plans.  We have asked the counties to provide their perspective on the bill's impact; however, the impact would ultimately depend on the frequency with which the Courts utilize enhanced treatment services orders. 

3/10/25