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Public Act 103-0690


 

Public Act 0690 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 


 
Public Act 103-0690
 
HB5094 EnrolledLRB103 38039 RTM 68171 b

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

Effective Date: 7/19/2024