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.

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
 1   Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
 2      "An act relating to the finances of the State government;
 3      providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
 4      ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
 5      Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
 6      financial management firms, for private dam financial
 7      assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
 8      the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
 9      bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
10      collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
11      due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
12      including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
13      the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
14      and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
15      Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
16      Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
17      courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
18      Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
19      all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
20      moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
21      and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
22      authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
23      to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
24      section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
25      Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
26      certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
27      department, board, commission, and officer of the State
28      government, every political subdivision of the State, and
29      certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
30      association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
31      collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
32      imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
33      other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
 1      every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
 2      Commonwealth," providing for Collaborative Care Model and
 3      Primary Care Behavioral Health Model Implementation Program.
 4      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 5   hereby enacts as follows:
 6      Section 1.    The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known
 7   as The Fiscal Code, is amended by adding an article to read:
 8                               ARTICLE I-M
 9                         COLLABORATIVE CARE MODEL
10                AND PRIMARY CARE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH MODEL
11                          IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM
12   Section 101-M.   Definitions.
13      The following words and phrases when used in this article
14   shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
15   context clearly indicates otherwise:
16      "Collaborative care model."     The evidence-based, integrated
17   behavioral health service delivery method described in 81 Fed.
18   Reg. 220, 80230 (November 15, 2016), which includes a formal
19   collaborative arrangement among a primary care team consisting
20   of a primary care physician, a care manager and a psychiatric
21   consultant, and includes the following elements:
22          (1)   Care directed by the primary care team.
23          (2)   Structured care management.
24          (3)   Regular assessments of clinical status using
25      developmentally appropriate, validated tools.
26          (4)   Modification of treatment as appropriate.
27      "Collaborative care technical assistance center."     A health
28   care organization that can provide educational support and
29   technical assistance related to the collaborative care model or
30   primary care behavioral health model in a specific region of
31   this Commonwealth. The term includes an academic medical center


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 1   located in this Commonwealth.
 2      "Department."    The Department of Human Services of the
 3   Commonwealth.
 4      "Primary care behavioral health model."    The evidence-based,
 5   integrated behavioral health service delivery method which may
 6   include a licensed behavioral health professional, psychologist,
 7   psychiatrist, clinical social worker or counselor in the primary
 8   care team and the following elements:
 9            (1)   Care directed by the primary care team.
10            (2)   Structured care management.
11            (3)   Regular assessments of clinical status using
12      developmentally appropriate, validated tools.
13            (4)   Modification of treatment as appropriate.
14   Section 102-M.    Primary care grants.
15      (a)   Grants.--The department shall make grants to primary
16   care physicians and primary care practices to meet the initial
17   costs of establishing and delivering behavioral health
18   integration services through the collaborative care model or
19   primary care behavioral health model. Primary care physicians
20   and primary care practices may work with larger health systems
21   for the purposes of applying for and implementing grants under
22   this section.
23      (b)   Use of grants.--A primary care physician or primary care
24   practice that receives a grant under this section shall use
25   funds received through the grant:
26            (1)   To hire staff.
27            (2)   To identify and formalize contractual relationships
28      with other health care practitioners, including practitioners
29      who will function as psychiatric consultants and behavioral
30      health care managers in providing behavioral health

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 1      integration services through the collaborative care model or
 2      primary care behavioral health model.
 3            (3)   To purchase or upgrade software and other resources
 4      needed to appropriately provide behavioral health integration
 5      services through the collaborative care model or primary care
 6      behavioral health model, including resources needed to
 7      establish a patient registry and implement measurement-based
 8      care.
 9            (4)   For other purposes that the department may determine
10      to be necessary.
11      (c)   Priority.--In making grants under this section, the
12   department shall give priority to primary care physicians and
13   primary care practices:
14            (1)   that are in rural areas; or
15            (2)   that are in a county in which the suicide or
16      overdose death rate is higher than the national average
17      suicide or overdose death rate, according to the averages
18      recorded and maintained by the Centers for Disease Control
19      and Prevention.
20   Section 103-M.    Technical assistance grants.
21      (a)   Regions.--The department shall divide the Commonwealth
22   into the following six regions:
23            (1)   Northeast.
24            (2)   Southeast.
25            (3)   North central.
26            (4)   South central.
27            (5)   Northwest.
28            (6)   Southwest.
29      (b)   Grants.--The department shall solicit proposals from and
30   enter into a grant agreement with at least one eligible

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 1   collaborative care technical assistance center applicant from
 2   each region under subsection (a) to provide technical assistance
 3   to primary care physicians and primary care practices on
 4   providing behavioral health integration services through the
 5   collaborative care model or primary care behavioral health
 6   model.
 7      (c)   Technical assistance described.--An entity that receives
 8   a grant under subsection (b), in a region described in
 9   subsection (a), shall provide technical assistance to primary
10   care physicians and primary care practices within that region
11   that will assist primary care physicians and primary care
12   practices with the following:
13            (1)   Developing financial models and budgets for program
14      launch and sustainability based on practice size.
15            (2)   Developing staffing models for essential staff
16      roles, including care managers, licensed behavioral health
17      professionals, psychologists and consulting psychiatrists.
18            (3)   Providing information technology expertise to assist
19      with building the model requirements into electronic health
20      records, including assistance with care manager tools,
21      patient registry, ongoing patient monitoring and patient
22      records.
23            (4)   Training support for all key staff and operational
24      consultation to develop practice workflows.
25            (5)   Establishing methods to ensure the sharing of best
26      practices and operational knowledge among primary care
27      physicians and primary care practices that provide behavioral
28      health integration services through the collaborative care
29      model or primary care behavioral health model.
30            (6)   Accurately and appropriately coding and billing

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 1      insurers for collaborative care model and primary care
 2      behavioral health model services.
 3            (7)   For other purposes that the department may determine
 4      to be necessary.
 5      (d)   Promotion required.--A collaborative care technical
 6   assistance center that receives a grant under subsection (b), in
 7   a region described in subsection (a), shall promote to primary
 8   care physicians and primary care practices within the
 9   collaborative care technical assistance center's region the
10   opportunity for primary care physicians and primary care
11   practices to apply for and receive the grants available under
12   section 102-M.
13   Section 104-M.    Eligibility.
14      (a)   Eligible applicant.--In order to be deemed an eligible
15   applicant, a collaborative care technical assistance center must
16   provide information on how it would meet the guidelines under
17   section 103-M when submitting an application to the department.
18      (b)   Exception.--If there are no applications submitted to
19   the department by a potential collaborative care technical
20   assistance center under section 103-M, in one or more regions
21   described under section 103-M(a), or the department determines
22   that none of the applications for a particular region indicate
23   that any applicant is fully capable of providing the technical
24   assistance described in section 103-M(c), the department may
25   award a grant to an applicant from outside that region if the
26   applicant describes how it will adequately provide the technical
27   assistance in the region.
28      Section 2.    This act shall take effect immediately.




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