Notice of Public Hearing on Wisconsin Outpatient Mental Health Clinics

The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) proposes to repeal older legislation concerning the operations of outpatient mental health clinics to create HFS 35 to do all the following:

• Eliminate burdensome provisions that do not help to lead to the desired outcomes for persons who receive outpatient mental health services treatment
   
• Codify, in rule, the statewide variances that have been issued by the Department to outpatient mental health providers
   
• Increase flexibility for clinic operations including allowing certified clinics to alternatively meet the standards of one of several national accrediting bodies when applying for renewal certification; permitting clinics to provide either clinical supervision, clinical collaboration or clinical consultation as part of the clinic's quality improvement process

The DHFS also proposes to revise other legislation to ensure that the language in these rules remains consistent with the language in the proposed ruling and that these rules reflect current practices and needs, such as, indexing the number of visits and dollar amounts before a prior authorization is required. Covered services are not proposed to change. The comment period ends August 10, 2006.