Behavioral Health Coordination and Communication Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7723 To establish the position of Interagency Coordinator for Behavioral Health to coordinate the programs and activities of the Federal Government relating to mental health, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 22, 2020 Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. TONKO, Mr. CA´RDENAS, and Mr. TRONE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To establish the position of Interagency Coordinator for Be- havioral Health to coordinate the programs and activities of the Federal Government relating to mental health, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Behavioral Health Co- 4 ordination and Communication Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY COORDINATOR FOR BEHAVIORAL 6 HEALTH. 7 (a) POSITION.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7723 IH (1) APPOINTMENT.—There is within the Execu- 1 tive Office of the President an Interagency Coordi- 2 nator for Behavioral Health (in this Act referred to 3 as the ‘‘Interagency Coordinator’’) who shall— 4 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 5 with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 6 (B) report directly to the President. 7 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Interagency Coordi- 8 nator shall— 9 (A) have expertise in mental health and 10 substance use disorders; and 11 (B) have administrative experience. 12 (3) TERM.—The Interagency Coordinator shall 13 be appointed for a term of 5 years. The same indi- 14 vidual may be reappointed to serve as the Inter- 15 agency Coordinator for subsequent 5-years terms. 16 (4) RATE OF PAY.—To the extent or in the 17 amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts, 18 the Interagency Coordinator shall be paid at a rate 19 equal to the rate of basic pay for level 1 of the Exec- 20 utive Schedule. 21 (b) PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITY.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Coordi- 23 nator shall coordinate the programs and activities of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7723 IH the Federal Government relating to mental health 1 and substance use disorders. 2 (2) CONSULTATION.— 3 (A) REQUIRED CONSULTATION.—In car- 4 rying out paragraph (1) with respect to any 5 program or activity, the Interagency Coordi- 6 nator shall consult with— 7 (i) the Assistant Secretary of Defense 8 for Health Affairs; 9 (ii) the Attorney General of the 10 United States, the Administrator of the 11 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 12 Prevention, and the Director of the Bureau 13 of Prisons; 14 (iii) the Director of National Drug 15 Control Policy; 16 (iv) the Secretary of Education, in- 17 cluding the Assistant Secretary for Special 18 Education and Rehabilitative Services; 19 (v) the Secretary of Health and 20 Human Services, the Assistant Secretary 21 for Health, the Assistant Secretary for the 22 Administration for Children and Families, 23 the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7723 IH and Substance Use, and the Director of 1 the Indian Health Service; 2 (vi) the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 3 rity; 4 (vii) the Secretary of Housing and 5 Urban Development; 6 (viii) the Secretary of Labor; 7 (ix) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 8 and 9 (x) the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 10 Minority Health. 11 (B) ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION.—In car- 12 rying out paragraph (1) with respect to any 13 program or activity, the Interagency Coordi- 14 nator may consult with the Director of the Cen- 15 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, the 16 Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Director 17 of the National Institutes of Health, the Ad- 18 ministrator of the Centers for Medicare & Med- 19 icaid Services, and such additional Federal offi- 20 cials as the Interagency Coordinator determines 21 appropriate. 22 (c) OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES.— 23 (1) FRAMEWORK FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND 24 SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS.—The Interagency Co- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7723 IH ordinator shall work with Federal departments and 1 agencies to create a framework within and across 2 such departments and agencies for mental health 3 and substance use disorders. Such framework shall 4 include the following: 5 (A) Care coordination to better integrate 6 mental health and substance use disorder care 7 into health care settings and ensure seamless 8 transitions for patients, including by— 9 (i) promoting mental health and sub- 10 stance use disorder care earlier in the 11 health care continuum; 12 (ii) focusing on providing mental 13 health and substance use disorder care in 14 more appropriate settings and locations; 15 (iii) promoting diversion to mental 16 health and substance use disorder treat- 17 ment programs instead of incarceration for 18 mental health conditions and substance use 19 disorders; 20 (iv) improving access to primary care 21 and other medical services in community 22 mental health and substance use disorder 23 settings; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7723 IH (v) promoting better treatment and 1 services for mental health conditions and 2 substance use disorders while incarcerated; 3 and 4 (vi) providing better coordination for 5 wraparound services at every point in 6 health care and the justice system for indi- 7 viduals with mental health conditions and 8 substance use disorders, including social 9 supports, housing, education, and employ- 10 ment. 11 (B) A focus on adults, children, youth, and 12 adolescents. 13 (C) Creating and implementing a transi- 14 tion plan for patients with mental health condi- 15 tions or substance use disorders who change 16 systems, departments, agencies, or services. 17 (2) INVENTORY.—The Interagency Coordinator 18 shall— 19 (A) take an inventory of all positions, com- 20 mittees, task forces, grants, and funding 21 streams in the Federal Government that are re- 22 lated to mental health and substance use dis- 23 orders; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7723 IH (B) provide suggestions to the President, 1 the Congress, and relevant Federal departments 2 and agencies on removing, restructuring, and 3 reorganizing such positions, committees, task 4 forces, grants, and funding streams. 5 (3) KNOWLEDGE CENTER.—The Interagency 6 Coordinator shall establish and maintain a knowl- 7 edge center to provide to the public, including by 8 means of a website, reliable information on mental 9 health and substance use disorders, including insur- 10 ance information and navigation tools for the ap- 11 peals process for insurance denials. 12 (4) BEST PRACTICES.—The Interagency Coor- 13 dinator shall identify best practices for— 14 (A) culturally congruent and linguistically 15 appropriate mental health and substance use 16 disorder care; 17 (B) comprehensive mental health and sub- 18 stance use disorder care; 19 (C) continuity of mental health and sub- 20 stance use disorder care; 21 (D) destigmatization of mental health con- 22 ditions and substance use disorders; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7723 IH (E) education campaigns on mental health 1 and substance use disorders in a variety of set- 2 tings that include— 3 (i) the full spectrum of education lev- 4 els, ranging from prekindergarten through 5 higher education; 6 (ii) a range of patient populations, in- 7 cluding pediatric, adult, geriatric, veteran, 8 racial and ethnic minority populations, as 9 well as patient populations in the justice 10 system; 11 (iii) a range of health care provider 12 populations; and 13 (iv) a range of providers in the justice 14 system. 15 (5) GUIDANCE ON MENTAL HEALTH AND SUB- 16 STANCE USE DISORDER TELEHEALTH TREATMENT 17 ACROSS STATE LINES.—Not later than 180 days 18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inter- 19 agency Coordinator shall issue guidance on collabo- 20 ration among States to enable mental health and 21 substance use disorder care professionals to treat 22 patients across State lines through telehealth tech- 23 nologies. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7723 IH (6) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 1 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 2 thereafter, the Interagency Coordinator shall submit 3 a public report to the Congress and the President 4 that includes— 5 (A) a description of the activities of the 6 Interagency Coordinator over the reporting pe- 7 riod; 8 (B) the strategic goals of the Interagency 9 Coordinator over the next 5- and 10-year peri- 10 ods; and 11 (C) an inventory of all Federal programs 12 pertaining to mental health and substance use 13 disorders. 14 (7) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 15 date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Coor- 16 dinator shall submit a public report to the Congress 17 and the President— 18 (A) describing the racial, ethnic, disability, 19 sex, and gender disparities within the mental 20 health and substance use disorder workforce, 21 describing how such disparities impact access to 22 care, particularly for minority populations, and 23 recommending how to address such disparities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7723 IH (B) projecting the diversity of mental 1 health and substance use disorder care profes- 2 sional in terms of race, ethnicity, sex, and gen- 3 der in 5 and 10 years; 4 (C) describing the racial, ethnic, disability, 5 sex, and gender disparities in education and 6 training for the mental health and substance 7 use disorder care professionals, and recom- 8 mending how to address such disparities; 9 (D) describing geographic racial, ethnic, 10 disability, sex, and gender disparities of the 11 mental health and substance use disorder work- 12 force, and recommending how to address such 13 disparities; 14 (E) recommending ways to include non- 15 subjective mental health and substance use dis- 16 order screenings as a vital sign; 17 (F) recommending ways to create a com- 18 plexity index for mental health and substance 19 use disorders; and 20 (G) assessing access to community-based 21 mental health and substance use disorder serv- 22 ices in underserved geographic areas and com- 23 munities of color. 24 (d) TEAM.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7723 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Coordi- 1 nator may appoint such personnel (in this Act re- 2 ferred to as the ‘‘team’’) as the Interagency Coordi- 3 nator considers appropriate. 4 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Interagency Coordi- 5 nator shall ensure that the team, collectively, has the 6 following experience: 7 (A) Working in an adult mental health set- 8 ting. 9 (B) Working in a geriatric mental health 10 setting. 11 (C) Working in a child mental health set- 12 ting. 13 (D) Working in an adult substance use dis- 14 order setting. 15 (E) Working in a child substance use dis- 16 order setting. 17 (F) Working in the adult justice system 18 with a focus on mental health and substance 19 use disorders. 20 (G) Working in the juvenile justice system 21 with a focus on mental health and substance 22 use disorders. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7723 IH (H) Working in a school or college cam- 1 pus-based setting with a focus on mental health 2 and substance use disorders. 3 (I) Working in a health care facility of the 4 Department of Veterans Affairs with a focus on 5 mental health and substance use disorders. 6 (J) Working in a foster care setting. 7 (K) Working in an integrated care setting. 8 (L) Receiving mental health and substance 9 use disorder care as an adult. 10 (M) Receiving mental health and substance 11 use disorder care as a child. 12 (N) Having been incarcerated in the adult 13 justice system while suffering from a mental ill- 14 ness or substance use disorder. 15 (O) Having been detained in the juvenile 16 justice system while suffering from a mental ill- 17 ness or substance use disorder. 18 (P) Having been placed in a foster care 19 setting. 20 (Q) Experience providing mental health or 21 substance use disorder care in minority and un- 22 derserved communities. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7723.IH H7723 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 7723 IH (3) DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 1 Interagency Coordinator shall delegate to the team 2 responsibilities including— 3 (A) using the framework created under 4 subsection (c)(1); 5 (B) helping to identify Federal, State, 6 Tribal, and local partnerships between the pub- 7 lic and private sectors for improving mental 8 health and substance use disorders; and 9 (C) help with implementation of this Act. 10 (4) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE 11 LAWS.—The team may be appointed without regard 12 to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov- 13 erning appointments in the competitive service, and 14 may be paid without regard to the provisions of 15 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that 16 title relating to classification and General Schedule 17 pay rates, except that an individual so appointed 18 may not receive pay in excess of the annual rate of 19 basic pay for GS–15 of the General Schedule. 20 (5) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Inter- 21 agency Coordinator may procure temporary and 22 intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 23 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 [Text truncated for display. 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