(1) At least once every five years, the commissioner shall solicit applications through a competitive bid process pursuant to the "Procurement Code", articles 101 to 112 of title 24, for entities to apply to be a behavioral health administrative services organization. Any qualified public or private corporation; for-profit or not-for-profit organization; or public or private agency, organization, or institution may apply in the form and manner determined by the BHA's rules. The BHA is authorized to award contracts to more than one applicant. The BHA shall use competitive bidding procedures to encourage competition and improve the quality of services. (2) The commissioner shall select a behavioral health administrative services organization based on factors established by BHA rules and the "Procurement Code", articles 101 to 112 of title 24. The BHA shall require an applicant to furnish letters of support from stakeholders in the region the applicant is applying to contract for, including, but not limited to, county commissioners and advocacy or community-based organizations. The letters of support must demonstrate the applicant's ability to serve the community. The factors for selection must include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) The applicant's experience working with publicly funded clients, including expertise in treating priority populations determined by the BHA; (b) The applicant's experience working with and engaging relevant stakeholders in the service area, including behavioral health providers; state and local agencies; and the local community, including advocacy organizations and clients of behavioral health services; (c) The extent to which real or perceived conflicts of interest between the applicant and behavioral health facilities or behavioral health providers are mitigated; and (d) The extent to which the applicant's board complies with conflict of interest policies, including to the following: (I) The board shall not have more than fifty percent of contracted providers as board members; (II) Providers who have ownership or board membership in a behavioral health administrative services organization shall not have control or decision-making authority in the establishment of provider networks; and (III) An employee of a contracted provider of a behavioral health administrative services organization shall not also be an employee of the behavioral health administrative services organization unless the employee is the clinical officer or utilization management director of the behavioral health administrative services organization. If the individual is also an employee of a provider that has board membership or ownership in the behavioral health administrative services organization, the behavioral health services organization shall develop policies approved by the commissioner to mitigate any conflict of interest the employee may have. (e) The extent to which the applicant's board membership reflects the diversity and interests of relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, representation by individuals with lived behavioral health experience and family of individuals with lived behavioral health experience.
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