Pennsylvania SB 522: An Act amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, providing for Collaborative Care Model and Primary Care Behavioral Health Model Implementation Program.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 497
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 522
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY FARRY, LAUGHLIN, SANTARSIERO AND COLLETT,
MARCH 26, 2025
REFERRED TO INSTITUTIONAL SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION,
MARCH 26, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
"An act relating to the finances of the State government;
providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
financial management firms, for private dam financial
assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
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every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
Commonwealth," providing for Collaborative Care Model and
Primary Care Behavioral Health Model Implementation Program.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known
as The Fiscal Code, is amended by adding an article to read:
ARTICLE I-M
COLLABORATIVE CARE MODEL
AND PRIMARY CARE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH MODEL
IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM
Section 101-M. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this article
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Collaborative care model." The evidence-based, integrated
behavioral health service delivery method described in 81 Fed.
Reg. 220, 80230 (November 15, 2016), which includes a formal
collaborative arrangement among a primary care team consisting
of a primary care physician, a care manager and a psychiatric
consultant, and includes the following elements:
(1) Care directed by the primary care team.
(2) Structured care management.
(3) Regular assessments of clinical status using
developmentally appropriate, validated tools.
(4) Modification of treatment as appropriate.
"Collaborative care technical assistance center." A health
care organization that can provide educational support and
technical assistance related to the collaborative care model or
primary care behavioral health model in a specific region of
this Commonwealth. The term includes an academic medical center
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located in this Commonwealth.
"Department." The Department of Human Services of the
Commonwealth.
"Primary care behavioral health model." The evidence-based,
integrated behavioral health service delivery method which may
include a licensed behavioral health professional, psychologist,
psychiatrist, clinical social worker or counselor in the primary
care team and the following elements:
(1) Care directed by the primary care team.
(2) Structured care management.
(3) Regular assessments of clinical status using
developmentally appropriate, validated tools.
(4) Modification of treatment as appropriate.
Section 102-M. Primary care grants.
(a) Grants.--The department shall make grants to primary
care physicians and primary care practices to meet the initial
costs of establishing and delivering behavioral health
integration services through the collaborative care model or
primary care behavioral health model. Primary care physicians
and primary care practices may work with larger health systems
for the purposes of applying for and implementing grants under
this section.
(b) Use of grants.--A pri