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HF124 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to discharge of involuntarily committed persons from a facility or a hospital.(See HF 385 .)

A bill for an act relating to discharge of involuntarily committed persons from a facility or a hospital.(See HF 385 .)

Healthcare
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
A. MEYER
Last action
2025-03-21
Official status
Withdrawn. H.J. 772 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to discharge of involuntarily committed persons from a facility or a hospital.(See HF 385 .)

A bill for an act relating to discharge of involuntarily committed persons from a facility or a hospital.(See HF 385 .)

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to discharge of involuntarily committed persons from a facility or a hospital.(See HF 385 .)

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-03-21 Iowa Legislature

    Withdrawn. H.J. 772 .

  2. 2025-02-13 Iowa Legislature

    Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 385 .

  3. 2025-02-11 Iowa Legislature

    Committee vote: Yeas, 20. Nays, 0. Excused, 1. H.J. 296 .

  4. 2025-02-11 Iowa Legislature

    Committee report, recommending passage. H.J. 296 .

  5. 2025-02-05 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee recommends passage.

  6. 2025-02-03 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee Meeting: 02/05/2025 2:30PM House Lounge 2.

  7. 2025-01-28 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Andrews, Brown-Powers and Meyer, A. H.J. 135 .

  8. 2025-01-27 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Health and Human Services. H.J. 127 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to discharge of involuntarily committed persons from a facility or a hospital.(See HF 385 .)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House

File

124

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

124

BY

A.

MEYER

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

discharge

of

involuntarily

committed

persons

1

from

a

facility

or

a

hospital.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

TLSB

2015YH

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124

Section

1.

Section

125.2,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

1

the

following

new

subsection:

2

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

01.

“Administrative

services

organization”

3

means

the

same

as

defined

in

section

225A.1.

4

Sec.

2.

Section

125.85,

subsection

4,

Code

2025,

is

amended

5

by

striking

the

subsection.

6

Sec.

3.

Section

125.85,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

the

7

following

new

subsections:

8

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

6.

Prior

to

a

discharge

of

a

respondent

9

under

this

section,

the

facility

treating

the

respondent

shall

10

do

all

of

the

following:

11

a.

Refer

the

respondent

to

an

administrative

services

12

organization

for

evaluation,

case

management,

and

postdischarge

13

services.

14

b.

Assess

the

respondent

for

suicide

risk.

15

c.

Provide

the

respondent

with

a

thirty-day

supply

of

16

each

medication

prescribed

for

the

respondent

before

or

17

during

the

respondent’s

treatment,

including

psychiatric

and

18

nonpsychiatric

medications.

19

d.

Provide

the

respondent

or

the

respondent’s

legal

20

representative

with

a

discharge

report.

The

discharge

report

21

shall

include

all

of

the

following:

22

(1)

The

respondent’s

name

and

address.

23

(2)

The

dates,

times,

and

locations

of

all

postdischarge

24

appointments

scheduled

for

the

respondent.

25

(3)

A

list

of

each

medication

provided

to

the

respondent

26

under

paragraph

“c”

.

27

(4)

Contact

information

for

the

administrative

services

28

organization

to

which

the

respondent

was

referred

under

29

paragraph

“a”

.

30

(5)

A

written

patient-centered

aftercare

plan,

including

31

crisis

prevention

and

steps

to

address

the

respondent’s

ongoing

32

care

needs.

33

(6)

(a)

Educational

materials

for

the

respondent

and

34

individuals

who

are

willing

to

support

the

respondent

after

the

35

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respondent’s

discharge.

1

(b)

Educational

materials

shall

be

developed

by

the

2

department

for

distribution

to

facilities.

Educational

3

materials

shall

include

but

not

be

limited

to

all

of

the

4

following:

5

(i)

Descriptions

of

the

symptoms

of

a

substance

use

6

disorder.

7

(ii)

Warning

signs

of

decompensation.

8

(iii)

Information

regarding

the

availability

of

other

9

educational

services,

services

offered

in

the

respondent’s

10

community,

and

services

offered

statewide.

11

e.

Notify

all

of

the

following

persons:

12

(1)

The

administrative

services

organization

to

which

the

13

respondent

was

referred

under

paragraph

“a”

.

14

(2)

The

respondent’s

legal

guardian,

parent,

spouse,

15

attorney

in

fact

under

chapter

144B,

or

adult

siblings,

as

16

applicable.

17

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

7.

The

administrative

services

18

organization

to

which

a

respondent

was

referred

under

19

subsection

6,

paragraph

“a”

,

shall

do

all

of

the

following

in

20

relation

to

the

discharged

respondent:

21

a.

Coordinate

postdischarge

care,

including

but

not

22

limited

to

contacting

the

respondent

to

ensure

the

respondent

23

attends

scheduled

appointments

and

receives

necessary

care

and

24

services.

25

b.

Follow

up

with

the

respondent

in

a

timely

manner.

26

Follow-ups

shall

include

but

not

be

limited

to

home

visits,

27

telephone

calls,

and

other

means

of

contacting

the

respondent.

28

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

8.

a.

Each

administrative

services

29

organization

shall

make

a

quarterly

report

to

the

department,

30

and

the

report

shall

include

all

of

the

following:

31

(1)

The

number

of

respondents

discharged

and

referred

to

32

the

administrative

services

organization

during

the

reporting

33

period.

34

(2)

The

outcome

of

each

discharged

respondent.

35

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(3)

Any

issues

encountered

while

ensuring

each

respondent’s

1

postdischarge

continuity

of

care.

2

b.

A

report

under

this

section

shall

be

considered

a

3

confidential

record

under

section

22.7.

4

c.

A

report

under

this

section

shall

comply

with

the

federal

5

Health

Insurance

Portability

and

Accountability

Act

of

1996,

6

Pub.

L.

No.

104-191.

7

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

9.

Following

a

respondent’s

discharge

from

8

a

facility

or

from

treatment,

the

administrator

of

the

facility

9

shall

immediately

report

the

discharge

to

the

court

which

10

ordered

the

respondent’s

commitment

or

treatment.

The

court

11

shall

issue

an

order

confirming

the

respondent’s

discharge

12

and

terminating

the

proceedings

in

which

the

respondent’s

13

commitment

or

treatment

was

ordered.

Copies

of

the

order

14

confirming

the

discharge

and

terminating

the

proceedings

shall

15

be

sent

by

regular

mail

to

the

facility

and

the

respondent.

16

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

10.

The

department

shall

adopt

rules

17

pursuant

to

chapter

17A

to

implement

and

administer

this

18

section.

19

Sec.

4.

Section

229.1,

Code

2025,

is

amended

by

adding

the

20

following

new

subsection:

21

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

01.

“Administrative

services

organization”

22

means

the

same

as

defined

in

section

225A.1.

23

Sec.

5.

Section

229.16,

Code

2025,

is

amended

to

read

as

24

follows:

25

229.16

Discharge

and

termination

of

proceeding.

26

1.

When

the

condition

of

,

in

the

opinion

of

the

chief

27

medical

officer,

a

patient

who

is

hospitalized

pursuant

to

a

28

report

issued

whose

treatment

was

recommended

under

section

29

229.14,

subsection

1

,

paragraph

“b”

,

or

is

receiving

treatment

30

pursuant

to

a

report

issued

under

section

229.14,

subsection

31

1

,

paragraph

“c”

,

or

is

in

full-time

care

and

custody

pursuant

32

to

a

report

issued

under

section

229.14,

subsection

1

,

33

paragraph

“d”

,

is

such

that

in

the

opinion

of

the

chief

medical

34

officer

the

patient

no

longer

requires

treatment

or

care

for

35

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serious

mental

impairment,

the

chief

medical

officer

shall

1

tentatively

discharge

the

patient

and

immediately

report

that

2

fact

the

discharge

to

the

court

which

ordered

the

patient’s

3

hospitalization

or

care

and

custody

treatment

.

Upon

receiving

4

the

report,

the

court

shall

issue

an

order

confirming

the

5

patient’s

discharge

from

the

hospital

or

from

care

and

custody,

6

as

the

case

may

be,

and

shall

terminate

terminating

the

7

proceedings

pursuant

to

in

which

the

order

patient’s

treatment

8

was

issued

ordered

.

Copies

of

the

order

shall

be

sent

by

9

regular

mail

to

the

hospital,

the

patient,

and

the

applicant

if

10

the

applicant

has

filed

a

written

waiver

signed

by

the

patient.

11

2.

If

a

patient

is

receiving

inpatient

care,

prior

to

a

12

discharge

of

the

patient

under

subsection

1,

the

facility

or

13

hospital

treating

the

patient

shall

do

all

of

the

following:

14

a.

Refer

the

patient

to

an

administrative

services

15

organization

for

evaluation,

case

management,

and

postdischarge

16

services.

17

b.

Assess

the

patient

for

suicide

risk.

18

c.

Provide

the

patient

with

a

thirty-day

supply

of

each

19

medication

prescribed

for

the

patient

before

or

during

the

20

patient’s

treatment,

including

psychiatric

and

nonpsychiatric

21

medications.

22

d.

Provide

the

patient

or

the

patient’s

legal

representative

23

with

a

discharge

report.

The

discharge

report

shall

include

24

all

of

the

following:

25

(1)

The

patient’s

name

and

address.

26

(2)

The

dates,

times,

and

locations

of

all

postdischarge

27

appointments

scheduled

for

the

patient.

28

(3)

A

list

of

each

medication

provided

to

the

patient

under

29

paragraph

“c”

.

30

(4)

Contact

information

for

the

administrative

services

31

organization

to

which

the

patient

was

referred

under

paragraph

32

“a”

.

33

(5)

A

written

patient-centered

aftercare

plan,

including

34

crisis

prevention

and

steps

to

address

the

patient’s

ongoing

35

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care

needs.

1

(6)

(a)

Educational

materials

for

the

patient

and

2

individuals

who

are

willing

to

support

the

patient

after

the

3

patient’s

discharge.

4

(b)

Educational

materials

shall

be

developed

by

the

5

department

for

distribution

to

facilities

and

hospitals

6

treating

persons

with

a

mental

illness.

Educational

materials

7

shall

include

but

not

be

limited

to

all

of

the

following:

8

(i)

Descriptions

of

the

symptoms

of

mental

illness.

9

(ii)

Warning

signs

of

decompensation.

10

(iii)

Information

regarding

the

availability

of

other

11

educational

services,

services

offered

in

the

patient’s

12

community,

and

services

offered

statewide.

13

e.

Notify

all

of

the

following

persons:

14

(1)

The

administrative

services

organization

to

which

the

15

patient

was

referred

under

paragraph

“a”

.

16

(2)

The

patient’s

legal

guardian,

parent,

spouse,

attorney

17

in

fact

under

chapter

144B,

or

adult

siblings,

as

applicable.

18

3.

The

administrative

services

organization

to

which

a

19

patient

was

referred

under

subsection

2,

paragraph

“a”

,

shall

do

20

all

of

the

following

in

relation

to

the

discharged

patient:

21

a.

Coordinate

postdischarge

care,

including

but

not

22

limited

to

contacting

the

patient

to

ensure

the

patient

23

attends

scheduled

appointments

and

receives

necessary

care

and

24

services.

25

b.

Follow

up

with

the

patient

in

a

timely

manner.

26

Follow-ups

shall

include

but

not

be

limited

to

home

visits,

27

telephone

calls,

and

other

means

of

contacting

the

patient.

28

4.

a.

Each

administrative

services

organization

shall

make

29

a

quarterly

report

to

the

department,

and

the

report

shall

30

include

all

of

the

following:

31

(1)

The

number

of

patients

discharged

and

referred

to

the

32

administrative

services

organization

during

the

reporting

33

period.

34

(2)

The

outcomes

of

each

discharged

patient.

35

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(3)

Any

issue

encountered

while

ensuring

each

patient’s

1

postdischarge

continuity

of

care.

2

b.

A

report

under

this

section

shall

be

considered

a

3

confidential

record

under

section

22.7.

4

c.

A

report

under

this

section

shall

comply

with

the

federal

5

Health

Insurance

Portability

and

Accountability

Act

of

1996,

6

Pub.

L.

No.

104-191.

7

5.

The

department

shall

adopt

rules

pursuant

to

chapter

17A

8

to

implement

this

section.

9

EXPLANATION

10

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

11

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

12

This

bill

relates

to

discharge

of

involuntarily

committed

13

persons

from

a

facility

or

a

hospital

(facility).

14

The

bill

requires,

prior

to

the

discharge

of

a

person

that

15

was

committed

for

a

substance

use

disorder

or

hospitalized

16

for

inpatient

care

for

a

serious

mental

impairment,

that

17

the

facility

treating

the

person

refer

the

person

to

an

18

administrative

services

organization

(ASO)

for

evaluation,

19

case

management,

and

postdischarge

services;

assess

the

person

20

for

suicide

risk;

provide

the

person

with

a

30-day

supply

of

21

all

medications

prescribed

for

the

person

before

or

during

the

22

person’s

treatment;

provide

the

person

or

the

person’s

legal

23

representative

with

a

discharge

report;

and

notify

certain

24

persons

listed

in

the

bill.

The

bill

details

the

information

25

that

must

be

included

in

the

discharge

report.

The

bill

26

requires

the

department

of

health

and

human

services

(HHS)

to

27

develop

educational

materials

for

distribution

to

facilities

28

for

a

facility

to

provide

with

the

person’s

discharge

report.

29

The

bill

details

the

contents

of

the

educational

materials.

30

The

bill

requires

the

ASO

to

which

the

person

was

referred

31

to

coordinate

the

discharged

person’s

postdischarge

care

32

by

contacting

the

discharged

person

to

ensure

the

person

33

attends

scheduled

appointments

and

receives

necessary

care

and

34

services,

and

following

up

with

the

discharged

person

in

a

35

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timely

manner.

1

The

bill

requires

ASOs

to

make

quarterly

reports

to

HHS.

The

2

bill

details

the

information

that

must

be

included

in

an

ASO’s

3

quarterly

report.

An

ASO’s

quarterly

report

is

considered

a

4

confidential

record

and

must

comply

with

the

federal

Health

5

Insurance

Portability

and

Accountability

Act

of

1996.

6

The

bill

requires

HHS

to

adopt

rules

to

implement

and

7

administer

the

bill.

8

The

bill

makes

conforming

changes

to

Code

sections

9

125.2

(substance

use

disorders

——

definitions)

and

229.1

10

(hospitalization

of

persons

with

mental

illness

——

definitions)

11

by

adding

a

definition

for

“administrative

services

12

organization”.

13

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