S3261 1R Senate Statement 2/27/23

These floor amendments expands the definition of “behavioral health care provider” to include a practitioner otherwise authorized to provide behavioral health care in the State or a treatment provider who is licensed or otherwise authorized to provide behavioral health care in the State acting in provider’s capacity as an employee or contractor for a facility licensed by the Department of Health to provide behavioral health care.

The bill, as introduced, defined a behavioral health care provider as a psychiatrist, psychiatric advanced practice nurse, psychologist, clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, or any other mental health or substance use disorder treatment provider licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes, but did not include other practitioners otherwise authorized to provide behavioral health care in the State or treatment providers licensed or otherwise authorized to provide behavioral health care in the State acting in their capacity as an employee or contractor for a facility licensed by the Department of Health to provide behavioral health care.

The floor amendments remove the requirement that a behavioral health care provider is authorized to provide behavioral health care to homeless persons within an emergency shelter for the homeless in a manner determined by to be determined by the Commissioners of Community Affairs and Human Services, the State Board of Medical Examiners, the State Board of Psychological Examiners, and the State Board of Social Work Examiners, and, instead, authorizes a behavioral health provider to provide behavioral health care on the condition that: (1) the services are made available to all residents to whom such services are applicable; (2) the services are provided in an environment that ensures, to the extent feasible given the layout and structure of the shelter, ongoing visual and auditory privacy for individual or group counseling services; (3) in the case of residents not receiving behavioral health care and to the extent feasible given the layout and structure of the shelter, the privacy and the right not to be disturbed of such residents are protected; and (4) participation in any behavioral health care program is not made mandatory for any person residing in the shelter.

The floor amendments require that a shelter set forth a schedule designating the days and hours that the services may be provided, but if necessary, the shelter may allow the provision of behavioral health care, on an emergency basis, outside the designated days and hours.

The bill, as introduced, did not require the shelter to establish a schedule designating the days and hours behavioral health care could be provided nor did the bill address the provision of such services outside the designated days and hours on an emergency basis, if necessary.

The floor amendments require the Commissioner of Community Affairs, in consultation with the Commissioners of Children and Families, Health, and Human Services, and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, to jointly or separately adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions of the bill, instead of the Commissioners of Community Affairs and Human Services, the State Board of Medical Examiners, the State Board of Psychological Examiners, and the State Board of Social Work Examiners, as originally provided in the bill.

The floor amendments require the Commissioner of Human Services to apply for State plan amendments or waivers necessary to provide behavioral health care, as described in the bill, to Medicaid-eligible homeless persons and to secure federal financial participation for the associated State Medicaid expenditures under the federal Medicaid program.

The bill, as introduced, did not address Medicaid coverage for the services provided under the provisions of the bill to Medicaid-eligible homeless persons. This amendment would require the commissioner to apply for any State plan amendments or waivers and to secure financial participation for Medicaid expenditures incurred by the State in providing behavioral health care, as described in the bill, to Medicaid-eligible homeless persons.