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1 | | (3) Duplication and burden also lead to longer |
2 | | admission processes, leaving behavioral health |
3 | | professionals less time to provide crucial treatment. |
4 | | (4) In behavioral health care, compliance with heavily |
5 | | regulated industry standards falls squarely on the |
6 | | shoulders of those providing direct services to |
7 | | individuals. |
8 | | (5) Behavioral health professionals have gone far too |
9 | | long without reasonable reform, causing capable workers to |
10 | | become overwhelmed and leave their jobs or the behavioral |
11 | | health industry altogether. |
12 | | (6) One of the greatest complaints from behavioral |
13 | | health professionals is the amount of administrative |
14 | | responsibilities that lead to less time with their |
15 | | clients. |
16 | | (7) Clinician burnout, if not addressed, will make it |
17 | | harder for individuals to get care when they need it, |
18 | | cause health costs to rise, and worsen health disparities. |
19 | | (8) Behavioral health professionals dedicate their |
20 | | expertise to addressing mental health and substance use |
21 | | challenges and that it is essential to streamline |
22 | | administrative processes to enable them to focus more on |
23 | | client care and treatment. |
24 | | (9) Administrative burdens can contribute to workforce |
25 | | challenges in the behavioral health sector. |
26 | | (b) The purpose of this Act is to: |
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1 | | (1) Alleviate the administrative burden placed on |
2 | | behavioral health professionals in Illinois and devise an |
3 | | efficient system that enhances client-centered services. |
4 | | Behavioral health professionals play a critical role in |
5 | | promoting mental health and well-being within Illinois |
6 | | communities. |
7 | | (2) Foster a collaborative and client-centered |
8 | | approach by encouraging communication and coordination |
9 | | among behavioral health professionals, regulatory bodies, |
10 | | and relevant stakeholders. |
11 | | (3) Make a heavy lift more bearable. |
12 | | (4) Address paperwork fatigue that leads to burnout. |
13 | | (5) Enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of |
14 | | behavioral health services by reducing unnecessary |
15 | | paperwork, bureaucratic hurdles, and redundant |
16 | | administrative requirements that may impede the delivery |
17 | | of timely and quality care. |
18 | | (6) Attract and retain skilled behavioral health |
19 | | professionals and ultimately improve access to mental |
20 | | health and substance use services for the residents of |
21 | | Illinois. |
22 | | (7) Align with the State's commitment to promoting |
23 | | mental health and substance use services, reducing |
24 | | barriers to care, and ensuring that behavioral health |
25 | | professionals can dedicate more time and resources to |
26 | | meeting the diverse needs of individuals and communities |
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1 | | across Illinois. |
2 | | (8) Enhance the overall effectiveness of the |
3 | | behavioral health sector to improve mental health outcomes |
4 | | and levels of well-being for all residents of the State. |
5 | | Section 10. The Behavioral Health Administrative Burden |
6 | | Task Force. |
7 | | (a) The Behavioral Health Administrative Burden Task Force |
8 | | is established within the Office of the Chief Behavioral |
9 | | Health Officer, in partnership with the Department of Human |
10 | | Services Division of Mental Health and Division of Substance |
11 | | Use Prevention and Recovery, the Department of Healthcare and |
12 | | Family Services, the Department of Children and Family |
13 | | Services, and the Department of Public Health. |
14 | | (b) The Task Force shall review policies and regulations |
15 | | affecting the behavioral health industry to identify |
16 | | inefficiencies, duplicate or unnecessary requirements, unduly |
17 | | burdensome restrictions, and other administrative barriers |
18 | | that prevent behavioral health professionals from providing |
19 | | services. |
20 | | (c) The Task Force shall analyze the impact of |
21 | | administrative burdens on the delivery of quality care and |
22 | | access to behavioral health services by: |
23 | | (1) collecting data on the administrative tasks, |
24 | | paperwork, and reporting requirements currently imposed on |
25 | | behavioral health professionals in Illinois; |
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1 | | (2) engaging with behavioral health professionals, |
2 | | including providers of all relevant license and |
3 | | certification types, to gather input on specific |
4 | | administrative challenges they face; |
5 | | (3) seeking input from clients and service recipients |
6 | | to understand the impact of administrative requirements on |
7 | | their care; and |
8 | | (4) conducting a comparative analysis of documentation |
9 | | requirements with other geographic jurisdictions. |
10 | | (d) The Task Force shall collaborate with relevant State |
11 | | agencies to identify areas where administrative processes can |
12 | | be standardized and harmonized by: |
13 | | (1) researching best practices and successful |
14 | | administrative burden reduction models from other states |
15 | | or jurisdictions; |
16 | | (2) unifying administrative requirements, such as |
17 | | screening, assessment, treatment planning, and personnel |
18 | | requirements, including background checks, where possible |
19 | | among state bodies; and |
20 | | (3) identifying and seeking to replicate reform |
21 | | efforts that have been successful in other jurisdictions. |
22 | | (e) The Task Force shall identify innovative technologies |
23 | | and tools that can help automate and streamline administrative |
24 | | tasks and explore the potential for interagency data sharing |
25 | | and integration to reduce redundant reporting by: |
26 | | (1) researching best practices around shared data |
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1 | | platforms to improve the delivery of behavioral health |
2 | | services and ensure that such platforms do not result in a |
3 | | duplication of data entry, including coverage of any |
4 | | relevant software costs to avoid duplication; |
5 | | (2) facilitating the secure exchange of client |
6 | | information, treatment plans, and service coordination |
7 | | among health care providers, behavioral health facilities, |
8 | | State-level regulatory bodies, and other relevant |
9 | | entities; |
10 | | (3) reducing administrative burdens and duplicative |
11 | | data entry for service providers; |
12 | | (4) ensuring compliance with federal and state privacy |
13 | | regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability |
14 | | and Accountability Act, 42 CFR Part 2, and other relevant |
15 | | laws and regulations; and |
16 | | (5) improving access to timely client care, with an |
17 | | emphasis on clients receiving services under the Medical |
18 | | Assistance Program. |
19 | | (f) The Task Force shall eliminate documentation |
20 | | redundancy and coordinate the sharing of information among |
21 | | State agencies by: |
22 | | (1) standardizing forms at the State-level to simplify |
23 | | access, reduce administrative burden, ensure consistency, |
24 | | and unify requirements across all behavioral health |
25 | | provider types where possible; |
26 | | (2) identifying areas where standardized language |
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1 | | would be allowable so that staff can focus on |
2 | | individualizing relevant components of documentation; |
3 | | (3) reducing and standardizing, when possible, the |
4 | | information required for assessments and treatment plan |
5 | | goals and consolidate documentation required in these |
6 | | areas for mental health and substance use clients; |
7 | | (4) evaluating, reducing, and streamlining information |
8 | | collected for the registration process, including the |
9 | | process for uploading information and resolving errors; |
10 | | (5) reducing the number of data fields that must be |
11 | | repeated across forms; and |
12 | | (6) streamlining State-level reporting requirements |
13 | | for federal and State grants and remove unnecessary |
14 | | reporting requirements for provider grants funded with |
15 | | state or federal dollars where possible. |
16 | | (g) The Task Force shall develop recommendations for |
17 | | legislative or regulatory changes that can reduce |
18 | | administrative burdens while maintaining client safety and |
19 | | quality of care by: |
20 | | (1) advocating for parity across settings and |
21 | | regulatory entities, including among community, private |
22 | | practice, and State-operated settings; |
23 | | (2) identifying opportunities for reporting |
24 | | efficiencies or technology solutions to share data across |
25 | | reports; |
26 | | (3) evaluating and considering opportunities to |
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1 | | simplify funding and seek legislative reform to align |
2 | | requirements across funding streams and regulatory |
3 | | entities; and |
4 | | (4) recommending procedures for more flexibility with |
5 | | deadlines where justified. |
6 | | (h) The Task Force shall participate in statewide efforts |
7 | | to integrate mental health and substance use disorder |
8 | | administrative functions. |
9 | | Section 15. Membership. The Task Force shall be chaired by |
10 | | Illinois' Chief Behavioral Health Officer or the Officer's |
11 | | designee. The chair of the Task Force may designate a |
12 | | nongovernmental entity or entities to provide pro bono |
13 | | administrative support to the Task Force. Except as otherwise |
14 | | provided in this Section, members of the Task Force shall be |
15 | | appointed by the chair. The Task Force shall consist of at |
16 | | least 15 members, including, but not limited to, the |
17 | | following: |
18 | | (1) community mental health and substance use |
19 | | providers representing geographical regions across the |
20 | | State; |
21 | | (2) representatives of statewide associations that |
22 | | represent behavioral health providers; |
23 | | (3) representatives of advocacy organizations either |
24 | | led by or consisting primarily of individuals with lived |
25 | | experience; |
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1 | | (4) a representative from the Division of Mental |
2 | | Health in the Department of Human Services; |
3 | | (5) a representative from the Division of Substance |
4 | | Use Prevention and Recovery in the Department of Human |
5 | | Services; |
6 | | (6) a representative from the Department of Children |
7 | | and Family Services; |
8 | | (7) a representative from the Department of Public |
9 | | Health; |
10 | | (8) One member of the House of Representatives, |
11 | | appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; |
12 | | (9) One member of the House of Representatives, |
13 | | appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of |
14 | | Representatives; |
15 | | (10) One member of the Senate, appointed by the |
16 | | President of the Senate; and |
17 | | (11) One member of the Senate, appointed by the |
18 | | Minority Leader of the Senate. |
19 | | Section 20. Meetings. Beginning no later than 6 months |
20 | | after the effective date of this Act, the Task Force shall meet |
21 | | monthly, or additionally as needed, to conduct its business. |
22 | | Members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation but |
23 | | may receive reimbursement for necessary expenses. |
24 | | Section 25. Administrative burden reduction plan. The Task |
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1 | | Force shall, within one year after its first meeting, prepare |
2 | | an administrative burden reduction plan, which shall include |
3 | | short-term and long-term policy recommendations aimed at |
4 | | reducing duplicative, unnecessary, or redundant requirements |
5 | | placed on behavioral health providers and improving timely |
6 | | access to care. The administrative burden reduction plan shall |
7 | | be submitted to any relevant State agency whose participation |
8 | | would be necessary to implement any component of the plan and |
9 | | shall be made publicly available online. No later than 90 days |
10 | | after receipt of the plan, each State agency whose |
11 | | participation would be necessary to implement any component of |
12 | | the plan shall submit a detailed response to the General |
13 | | Assembly about the recommendations in the administrative |
14 | | burden reduction plan, including an explanation about the |
15 | | feasibility of implementing the recommendations and shall make |
16 | | these responses publicly available online. |
17 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
18 | | becoming law.". |