H259 - 2023 Appropriations Act. (SL 2023-134)

Overview: Section 9E.19B of S.L. 2023-134 provides that of the funds appropriated in the act to the Division of Health Benefits, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), $1.85 million in recurring funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, and $1.95 million in recurring funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, must be used for the North Carolina – Psychiatry Access Line (NC-PAL). NC-PAL is a partnership between DHHS and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University.

No later than September 1, 2024, and September 1 , 2025, NC-PAL must submit the information below to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Fiscal Research Division.

• The number of consultations by NC-PAL Child Psychiatry and NC-PAL Perinatal Psychiatry provided over the previous fiscal year.
• The geographic regions by county utilizing NC-PAL services.
• The percentage of NC-PAL consultations that resulted in treatment of an individual by that individual’s primary care provider, rather than a referral to a specialist.
• The estimated number of avoided emergency department visits resulting from services provided through NC-PAL.
• The results of any new pilot program offering consultations with county department of social services offices or residential providers and whether those consultations reduced placement disruptions for children in the custody of county departments of social services or the need for crisis intervention.

This section became effective July 1, 2023.