Texas Health and Safety Code

§ 164.007 — QUALIFIED MENTAL HEALTH REFERRAL SERVICE: DEFINITION AND STANDARDS

HS § 164.007Title 2. HEALTH · Part H. PUBLIC HEALTH PROVISIONS · Ch. 164. TREATMENT FACILITIES MARKETING AND ADMISSION PRACTICES

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(a)A qualified mental health referral service means a service that conforms to all of the following standards:

(1)the referral service does not exclude as a participant in the referral service an individual who meets the qualifications for participation and qualifications for participation cannot be based in whole or in part on an individual's or entity's affiliation or nonaffiliation with other participants in the referral service;

(2)a payment the participant makes to the referral service is assessed equally against and collected equally from all participants, and is only based on the cost of operating the referral service and not on the volume or value of any referrals to or business otherwise generated by the participants of the referral service;

(3)the referral service imposes no requirements on the manner in which the participant provides services to a referred person, except that the referral service may require that the participant charge the person referred at the same rate as it charges other persons not referred by the referral service, or that these services be furnished free of charge or at a reduced charge;

(4)a referral made to a mental health professional or chemical dependency treatment facility is made only in accordance with Subdivision (1) and the referral service does not make referrals to mental health facilities other than facilities maintained or operated by the department, community mental health centers, or other political subdivisions, provided that a physician may make a referral directly to any mental health facility;

(5)the referral service is staffed by appropriately licensed and trained mental health professionals and a person who makes assessments for the need for treatment of mental illness or chemical dependency is a mental health professional as defined by this chapter;

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Legislative history

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0496, eff. April 2, 2015.