Bill > S2581

Introduced Session

This bill establishes certain initiatives related to behavioral health care, including increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates, providing cost-of-living adjustments for residential behavioral health care facilities, establishing grant programs for facility upkeep and provider training, and relaxing clinical supervision requirements for certain professionals. Specifically, the bill requires that contracts between the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services (DHS) and residential behavioral health service providers are to include an annual cost of living increase adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index for the previous 12-month period. The bill establishes, in the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) in the DHS, the "Residential Behavioral Health Care Access and Improvement Fund," which will be dedicated to providing grants to residential behavioral health service providers to support routine repairs and maintenance. The bill provides that, commencing on July 1, 2024, the Medicaid reimbursement rate for residential behavioral health services is to equal to the payment rate that applies under Medicare Part B. The Commissioner of Human Services will be required to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature concerning the increased reimbursement rate, including changes in access to services or in the quality of services for Medicaid beneficiaries resulting from the rate increase, as well as recommendations for additional enhancements to the Medicaid rates. The bill establishes a grant program in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety to assist in the training of behavioral health service professionals, expand the pipeline of high-quality, trained professionals, and address shortages in the behavioral health care workforce. Grants under the program will be awarded on a competitive basis to entities with or seeking to establish internship programs in behavioral health care, which grants are to be used to compensate interns and instructors participating in the internship program and foster the development of additional behavioral health internship slots and programs. Grant awardees will be required to report to the Division of Consumer Affairs concerning the use of grant funds, and the division will be required to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature concerning the grant program. The bill provides that, for the purposes of meeting clinical supervision requirements, applicants for a clinical social worker or professional counselor licensure may be supervised by either a licensed clinical social worker or a licensed professional counselor. Current law requires these applicants to be supervised by an individual holding the same license as the applicant is seeking.

Committee Categories

Tony Bucco (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 02/08/2024)

Official Document