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1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Workforce 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 health care, compliance with heavily
21    regulated industry standards falls squarely on the
22    shoulders of those providing direct services to
23    individuals.

 

 

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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.
19    (b) The purpose of this Act is to:
20        (1) Alleviate the administrative burden placed on
21    behavioral health professionals in Illinois and devise an
22    efficient system that enhances client-centered services.
23    Behavioral health professionals play a critical role in
24    promoting mental health and well-being within Illinois
25    communities.
26        (2) Foster a collaborative and client-centered

 

 

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1    approach by encouraging communication and coordination
2    among behavioral health professionals, regulatory bodies,
3    and relevant stakeholders.
4        (3) Make a heavy lift more bearable.
5        (4) Address paperwork fatigue that leads to burnout.
6        (5) Enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of
7    behavioral health services by reducing unnecessary
8    paperwork, bureaucratic hurdles, and redundant
9    administrative requirements that may impede the delivery
10    of timely and quality care.
11        (6) Attract and retain skilled behavioral health
12    professionals and ultimately improve access to mental
13    health and substance use services for the residents of
14    Illinois.
15        (7) Align with the State's commitment to promoting
16    mental health and substance use services, reducing
17    barriers to care, and ensuring that behavioral health
18    professionals can dedicate more time and resources to
19    meeting the diverse needs of individuals and communities
20    across Illinois.
21        (8) Enhance the overall effectiveness of the
22    behavioral health sector to improve mental health outcomes
23    and levels of well-being for all residents of the State.
 
24    Section 10. The Behavioral Health Administrative Burden
25Task Force.

 

 

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1    (a) The Behavioral Health Administrative Burden Task Force
2is established within the Office of the Chief Behavioral
3Health Officer, in partnership with the Department of Human
4Services Division of Mental Health and Division of Substance
5Use Prevention and Recovery, the Department of Healthcare and
6Family Services, the Department of Children and Family
7Services, and the Department of Public Health.
8    (b) The Task Force shall review policies and regulations
9affecting the behavioral health industry to identify
10inefficiencies, duplicate or unnecessary requirements, unduly
11burdensome restrictions, and other administrative barriers
12that prevent behavioral health professionals from providing
13services.
14    (c) The Task Force shall analyze the impact of
15administrative burdens on the delivery of quality care and
16access to behavioral health services by:
17        (1) collecting data on the administrative tasks,
18    paperwork, and reporting requirements currently imposed on
19    behavioral health professionals in Illinois;
20        (2) engaging with behavioral health professionals,
21    including providers of all relevant license and
22    certification types, to gather input on specific
23    administrative challenges they face;
24        (3) seeking input from clients and service recipients
25    to understand the impact of administrative requirements on
26    their care; and

 

 

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1        (4) conducting a comparative analysis of documentation
2    requirements with other geographic jurisdictions.
3    (d) The Task Force shall collaborate with relevant State
4agencies to identify areas where administrative processes can
5be standardized and harmonized by:
6        (1) researching best practices and successful
7    administrative burden reduction models from other states
8    or jurisdictions;
9        (2) unifying administrative requirements, such as
10    screening, assessment, treatment planning, and personnel
11    requirements, including background checks, where possible
12    among state bodies; and
13        (3) identifying and seeking to replicate reform
14    efforts that have been successful in other jurisdictions.
15    (e) The Task Force shall identify innovative technologies
16and tools that can help automate and streamline administrative
17tasks and explore the potential for interagency data sharing
18and integration to reduce redundant reporting by:
19        (1) researching best practices around shared data
20    platforms to improve the delivery of behavioral health
21    services and ensure that such platforms do not result in a
22    duplication of data entry, including coverage of any
23    relevant software costs to avoid duplication;
24        (2) facilitating the secure exchange of client
25    information, treatment plans, and service coordination
26    among health care providers, behavioral health facilities,

 

 

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1    State-level regulatory bodies, and other relevant
2    entities;
3        (3) reducing administrative burdens and duplicative
4    data entry for service providers;
5        (4) ensuring compliance with federal and state privacy
6    regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability
7    and Accountability Act, 42 CFR Part 2, and other relevant
8    laws and regulations; and
9        (5) improving access to timely client care, with an
10    emphasis on clients receiving services under the Medical
11    Assistance Program.
12    (f) The Task Force shall eliminate documentation
13redundancy and coordinate the sharing of information among
14State agencies by:
15        (1) standardizing forms at the State-level to simplify
16    access, reduce administrative burden, ensure consistency,
17    and unify requirements across all behavioral health
18    provider types where possible;
19        (2) identifying areas where standardized language
20    would be allowable so that staff can focus on
21    individualizing relevant components of documentation;
22        (3) reducing and standardizing, when possible, the
23    information required for assessments and treatment plan
24    goals and consolidate documentation required in these
25    areas for mental health and substance use clients;
26        (4) evaluating, reducing, and streamlining information

 

 

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1    collected for the registration process, including the
2    process for uploading information and resolving errors;
3        (5) reducing the number of data fields that must be
4    repeated across forms; and
5        (6) streamlining State-level reporting requirements
6    for federal and State grants and remove unnecessary
7    reporting requirements for provider grants funded with
8    state or federal dollars where possible.
9    (g) The Task Force shall develop recommendations for
10legislative or regulatory changes that can reduce
11administrative burdens while maintaining client safety and
12quality of care by:
13        (1) advocating for parity across settings and
14    regulatory entities, including among community, private
15    practice, and State-operated settings;
16        (2) identifying opportunities for reporting
17    efficiencies or technology solutions to share data across
18    reports;
19        (3) evaluating and considering opportunities to
20    simplify funding and seek legislative reform to align
21    requirements across funding streams and regulatory
22    entities; and
23        (4) recommending procedures for more flexibility with
24    deadlines where justified.
25    (h) The Task Force shall participate in statewide efforts
26to integrate mental health and substance use disorder

 

 

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1administrative functions.
 
2    Section 15. Membership. The Task Force shall be chaired by
3Illinois' Chief Behavioral Health Officer or the Officer's
4designee. The chair of the Task Force may designate a
5nongovernmental entity or entities to provide pro bono
6administrative support to the Task Force. Except as otherwise
7provided in this Section, members of the Task Force shall be
8appointed by the chair. The Task Force shall consist of at
9least 15 members, including, but not limited to, the
10following:
11        (1) community mental health and substance use
12    providers representing geographical regions across the
13    State;
14        (2) representatives of statewide associations that
15    represent behavioral health providers;
16        (3) representatives of advocacy organizations either
17    led by or consisting primarily of individuals with lived
18    experience;
19        (4) a representative from the Division of Mental
20    Health in the Department of Human Services;
21        (5) a representative from the Division of Substance
22    Use Prevention and Recovery in the Department of Human
23    Services;
24        (6) a representative from the Department of Children
25    and Family Services;

 

 

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1        (7) a representative from the Department of Public
2    Health;
3        (8) One member of the House of Representatives,
4    appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
5        (9) One member of the House of Representatives,
6    appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
7    Representatives;
8        (10) One member of the Senate, appointed by the
9    President of the Senate; and
10        (11) One member of the Senate, appointed by the
11    Minority Leader of the Senate.
 
12    Section 20. Meetings. Beginning no later than 6 months
13after the effective date of this Act, the Task Force shall meet
14monthly, or additionally as needed, to conduct its business.
15Members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation but
16may receive reimbursement for necessary expenses.
 
17    Section 25. Administrative burden reduction plan. The Task
18Force shall, within one year after its first meeting, prepare
19an administrative burden reduction plan, which shall include
20short-term and long-term policy recommendations aimed at
21reducing duplicative, unnecessary, or redundant requirements
22placed on behavioral health providers and improving timely
23access to care. The administrative burden reduction plan shall
24be submitted to any relevant State agency whose participation

 

 

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1would be necessary to implement any component of the plan and
2shall be made publicly available online. No later than 90 days
3after receipt of the plan, each State agency whose
4participation would be necessary to implement any component of
5the plan shall submit a detailed response to the General
6Assembly about the recommendations in the administrative
7burden reduction plan, including an explanation about the
8feasibility of implementing the recommendations and shall make
9these responses publicly available online.
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.