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