Mental Health Workforce and Language Access Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1784 To increase language access to behavioral health services at eligible health centers, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 31 (legislative day, MAY 30), 2023 Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To increase language access to behavioral health services at eligible health centers, 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 ‘‘Mental Health Work- 4 force and Language Access Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO INCREASE LAN- 6 GUAGE ACCESS AT ELIGIBLE HEALTH CEN- 7 TERS. 8 (a) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall carry out a dem- 9 onstration program consisting of awarding grants to eligi- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1784.IS S1784 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1784 IS ble health centers to recruit, hire, employ, and supervise 1 qualified behavioral health professionals who— 2 (1) are proficient in speaking and under- 3 standing both spoken English and at least one other 4 spoken language, including any necessary specialized 5 vocabulary, terminology, and phraseology; 6 (2) are able to effectively, accurately, and im- 7 partially communicate directly with limited English 8 proficient individuals in their primary language; and 9 (3) are, or will be, employed— 10 (A) directly by the eligible health center; or 11 (B) through a contract between the eligible 12 health center and the qualified behavioral 13 health professional under which such profes- 14 sional provides services as part of the eligible 15 health center’s workforce or under supervision 16 by the health center, in order to provide behav- 17 ioral health services in another language. 18 (b) PREFERENCE.—In selecting grant recipients 19 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give preference 20 to eligible health centers at which at least 10 percent of 21 the patients are best served in a language other than 22 English, as indicated by data in the Uniform Data System 23 of the Health Resources and Services Administration (or 24 any successor database). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1784.IS S1784 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1784 IS (c) OUTREACH.—An eligible health center receiving 1 a grant under this section shall use a portion of the grant 2 funds to disseminate information about the behavioral 3 health services supported through the grant. 4 (d) REPORTS.— 5 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months 6 after the first grants are awarded under subsection 7 (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 8 Appropriations and the Committee on Energy and 9 Commerce of the House of Representatives, the 10 Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 11 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen- 12 ate, and other appropriate congressional committees, 13 a report on the implementation of the program 14 under this section. Such report shall include— 15 (A) the languages spoken by the qualified 16 behavioral health professionals recruited pursu- 17 ant to a grant under subsection (a); 18 (B) the eligible health center at which each 19 such professional was placed; 20 (C) how many eligible health centers re- 21 ceived grants under subsection (a); 22 (D) an analysis, conducted in consultation 23 with the eligible health centers receiving grants 24 under subsection (a), of the effectiveness of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1784.IS S1784 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1784 IS such grants at increasing language access to be- 1 havioral health services; and 2 (E) best practices, developed in consulta- 3 tion with eligible health centers receiving grants 4 under subsection (a), for the recruitment and 5 retention of qualified behavioral health profes- 6 sionals at such health centers. 7 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than the end of 8 fiscal year 2026, the Secretary shall submit to the 9 Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 10 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa- 11 tives, the Committee on Appropriations and the 12 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 13 sions of the Senate, and other appropriate congres- 14 sional committees, a final report on the implementa- 15 tion of the program under this section, including the 16 information, analysis, and best practices described in 17 subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1). 18 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 (1) The term ‘‘eligible health center’’ means a 20 health center (as defined in section 330 of the Pub- 21 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b)) that is al- 22 ready receiving assistance pursuant to one or more 23 grants under such section 330 at the time of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1784.IS S1784 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1784 IS award to such health center of a supplemental grant 1 under subsection (a). 2 (2) The term ‘‘qualified behavioral health pro- 3 fessional’’ means— 4 (A) a behavioral and mental health profes- 5 sional (as defined in section 331(a)(3)(E)(i) of 6 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 7 254d(a)(3)(E)(i)); 8 (B) a substance use disorder counselor; 9 (C) an occupational therapist; or 10 (D) an individual who— 11 (i) has not yet been licensed or cer- 12 tified to serve as a professional listed in 13 any of subparagraphs (A) through (C); 14 and 15 (ii) will serve at the eligible health 16 center under the supervision of a licensed 17 individual or certified professional so list- 18 ed. 19 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 20 of Health and Human Services. 21 (f) FUNDING.—Subject to the availability of appro- 22 priations, out of amounts otherwise appropriated under 23 section 760(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 24 294k(g)), the Secretary is authorized to use up to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1784.IS S1784 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1784 IS $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029 1 to carry out this section. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jun 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1784.IS S1784 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS