I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8543 
To amend the Social Security Act and the Public Health Service Act to 
permanently authorize certified community behavioral health clinics, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 23, 2024 
Ms. MATSUI (for herself, Mr. BUCSHON, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. MOLINARO, and Mr. 
TONKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Social Security Act and the Public Health 
Service Act to permanently authorize certified community 
behavioral health clinics, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title. 
TITLE I—ENSURING PERMANENCY FOR CERTIFIED COMMUNITY 
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICS IN THE MEDICAID PROGRAM 
Sec. 101. Establishing a Medicaid Prospective Payment System for Certified 
Community Behavioral Health Clinics. 
TITLE II—COVERAGE OF CERTIFIED COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL 
HEALTH CLINIC SERVICES UNDER THE MEDICARE PROGRAM 
Sec. 201. Coverage of certified community behavioral health clinic services 
under the Medicare program. 
TITLE III—COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINIC GRANTS 
Sec. 301. Operating grants for community behavioral health clinics. 
TITLE 
I—ENSURING 
PERMA-
NENCY FOR CERTIFIED COM-
MUNITY 
BEHAVIORAL 
HEALTH 
CLINICS 
IN 
THE 
MEDICAID PROGRAM 
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHING A MEDICAID PROSPECTIVE PAY-
MENT SYSTEM FOR CERTIFIED COMMUNITY 
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICS. 
Section 1902 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1396a) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(uu) PAYMENT FOR SERVICES PROVIDED BY CER-
TIFIED COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with fiscal year 
2024, with respect to services furnished on or after 
January 1, 2024, and each succeeding fiscal year, a 
State may provide under the State plan under this 
title (or under a waiver of such plan) for payment 
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for services described in section 1905(a)(31) fur-
nished by a certified community behavioral health 
clinic (in this subsection referred to as a ‘clinic’) in 
accordance with the provisions of this subsection. 
‘‘(2) PAYMENT FOR SERVICES IN INITIAL YEAR 
AND EVERY THIRD YEAR.—Subject to paragraphs 
(4), (5), and (6), for services furnished by a clinic 
in the first fiscal year for which a State elects to 
provide for payment for services described in section 
1905(a)(31) in accordance with the payment option 
under paragraph (1), and every third fiscal year 
thereafter in which the State makes such an elec-
tion, the State shall provide for payment for such 
services in an amount (calculated on the basis of 
daily visits or unduplicated monthly visits, at the 
State’s election) that is equal to 100 percent of the 
average costs of the clinic of furnishing any of the 
services described in paragraph (31) of section 
1905(a) during the 2 fiscal years preceding the fis-
cal year involved which are reasonable and related to 
the costs of furnishing such services; provided that, 
in the absence of complete actual cost data rep-
resenting the provision of the full covered benefit in 
such preceding fiscal years, certified community be-
havioral health clinics may, at the State’s discretion, 
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use estimated or projected data relating to specific 
services for which they lack cost experience. The 
per-unit rate derived from such cost data shall be 
adjusted to take into account any increase or de-
crease in the scope of such services furnished by the 
clinic in the fiscal year involved. 
‘‘(3) PAYMENT FOR SERVICES IN SUCCEEDING 
FISCAL YEARS.—Subject to paragraphs (4), (5), and 
(6), for services described in section 1905(a)(31) 
furnished by a clinic for which a State elects to pro-
vide for payment for such services in accordance 
with the payment option under paragraph (1) and 
that are furnished in a fiscal year that is not de-
scribed in paragraph (2), the State plan shall pro-
vide for payment for such services in an amount 
(calculated 
on 
the 
basis 
of 
daily 
visits 
or 
unduplicated monthly visits, at the State’s election) 
that is equal to the amount calculated under this 
subsection for such services and clinic for the pre-
ceding year— 
‘‘(A) increased by the percentage increase 
in the inflationary factor described in section 
1834(aa)(2)(C); and 
‘‘(B) adjusted to take into account any in-
crease or decrease in the scope of such services 
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furnished by the clinic during the fiscal year in-
volved. 
‘‘(4) ESTABLISHMENT OF INITIAL YEAR PAY-
MENT FOR NEW CLINICS.—In any case in which an 
entity first qualifies as a certified community behav-
ioral health clinic after the first fiscal year in which 
a State elects to provide for payment for services de-
scribed in section 1905(a)(31) in accordance with 
the payment option under paragraph (1), the State 
plan shall provide for payment for such services in 
the first 2 years in which the clinic so qualifies in 
an amount (calculated on the basis of daily visits or 
unduplicated monthly visits, at the State’s election) 
that is equal to the rates established under this sub-
section for other such clinics located in the same or 
adjacent area with a similar case load, or in the ab-
sence of any such clinic, based on the average per- 
unit rate for other certified community behavioral 
health clinics in the State; provided, however, that 
effective, at latest, as of the 3rd year in which the 
clinic furnishes such services, the State establishes a 
unique payment rate for the clinic based on the 
methodology described in paragraph (2), using al-
lowable costs from the clinic’s first 2 fiscal years of 
operation as the basis for establishing such rates; 
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and provided, additionally, that in any year following 
the establishment of an initial rate under this para-
graph, the State plan or waiver provides for the pay-
ment amount to be calculated in accordance with 
paragraph (2) or (3) (as applicable). 
‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATION IN THE CASE OF MAN-
AGED CARE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of services 
furnished by a certified community behavioral 
health clinic pursuant to a contract between the 
clinic and a managed care entity (as defined in 
section 1932(a)(1)(B)), the State plan or a 
waiver of such plan shall provide for 1 of the 
following: 
‘‘(i) Payment to the clinic by the 
State of a supplemental payment equal to 
the amount (if any) by which the amount 
determined under paragraph (2), (3), or 
(4) (as applicable) exceeds the amount of 
payments under the contract, with such 
supplemental payment being made pursu-
ant to a payment schedule agreed to by the 
State and the certified community behav-
ioral health clinic, but in no case less fre-
quently than every 3 months. 
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‘‘(ii) Delegation by the State to the 
managed care entity of the obligation to 
pay the clinic at least the rate determined 
under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) (as appli-
cable); provided, however, that the State 
shall use reconciliation and oversight proc-
esses to ensure that each clinic is paid at 
least the amounts required under such 
paragraphs. 
‘‘(6) ALTERNATIVE
PAYMENT
METHODOLO-
GIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
subsection, the State plan or a waiver of such plan 
may provide for payment in any year to a certified 
community behavioral health clinic for services de-
scribed in paragraph (31) of section 1905(a) in an 
amount which is determined under an alternative 
payment methodology that— 
‘‘(A) is agreed to by the State and the clin-
ic; and 
‘‘(B) results in payment to the clinic of an 
amount which is not less than the amount oth-
erwise required to be paid to the clinic under 
this subsection.’’. 
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TITLE II—COVERAGE OF CER-
TIFIED COMMUNITY BEHAV-
IORAL HEALTH CLINIC SERV-
ICES UNDER THE MEDICARE 
PROGRAM 
SEC. 201. COVERAGE OF CERTIFIED COMMUNITY BEHAV-
IORAL HEALTH CLINIC SERVICES UNDER THE 
MEDICARE PROGRAM. 
(a) COVERAGE.—Section 1861(s)(2) of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(2)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (II), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (JJ), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(KK) certified community behavioral health 
clinic services (as defined in subsection (aa)(8)) fur-
nished on or after January 1, 2024.’’. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1861(aa) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘and Federally 
Qualified Health Center Services’’ and inserting ‘‘, 
Federally Qualified Health Center Services, and Cer-
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tified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Serv-
ices’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(8) The terms ‘certified community behavioral 
health clinic services’ and ‘certified community behavioral 
health clinic’ have the meaning given those terms in para-
graphs (1) and (2), respectively, of section 1905(jj).’’. 
(c) PAYMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1833(a)(1) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(a)(1)) is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and (HH)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(HH)’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the semicolon at 
the end the following: ‘‘, and (II) with respect 
to certified community behavioral health clinic 
services for which payment is made under sec-
tion 1834(aa), the amounts paid shall be equal 
to 80 percent of the lesser of the actual charge 
or the amount determined under such section’’. 
(2) DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 
PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM.—Section 1834 of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m) is 
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amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(aa) DEVELOPMENT
AND IMPLEMENTATION
OF 
PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM FOR CERTIFIED COM-
MUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICS.— 
‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary shall de-
velop a prospective payment system for payment to 
certified community behavioral health clinics (as de-
fined in section 1861(aa)(8)) for the furnishing of 
certified community behavioral health clinic services 
(as defined in such section) under this title. Such 
system shall be established to take into account the 
type, intensity, and duration of services furnished by 
certified community behavioral health clinics. Such 
system may include adjustments, including geo-
graphic adjustments, as determined appropriate by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
provide, for cost reporting periods beginning on 
or after January 1, 2024, for payments of pro-
spective payment rates for certified community 
behavioral health clinic services furnished by 
certified community behavioral health clinics 
under this title in accordance with the prospec-
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tive payment system developed by the Secretary 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) INITIAL PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall implement such prospective payment sys-
tem to reflect the national average allowable 
service costs of such clinics on the basis of the 
most current audited cost report data for two 
fiscal years available to the Secretary; provided 
that, in the absence of complete actual cost 
data representing the provision of the full cov-
ered benefit during the relevant fiscal years, 
certified community behavioral health clinics 
may, at the Secretary’s discretion, use esti-
mated or projected data relating to specific 
services. Initial payments shall be established 
without the application of a per visit limit or 
productivity screen and shall be based on na-
tional average costs per unit of service, updated 
as appropriate by the inflationary adjustment 
described in subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(C) PAYMENTS IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS.— 
Payment rates in years after the year of imple-
mentation of such system shall be the payment 
rates in the previous year increased— 
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‘‘(i) in the first year after implemen-
tation of such system, by the percentage 
increase in the MEI (as defined in section 
1842(i)(3)) for the year involved; and 
‘‘(ii) in subsequent years, by the per-
centage increase in a market basket of cer-
tified community behavioral health clinic 
services, designed by the Secretary, or if 
such an index is not available, by the per-
centage increase in the MEI (as defined in 
section 1842(i)(3)) for the year involved. 
‘‘(3) UNIT
OF
PAYMENT.—In establishing a 
prospective payment amount under the system under 
this subsection, the Secretary shall consider an ap-
propriate unit of service and a general system design 
that provides for continued access to quality serv-
ices. 
‘‘(4) PERIODIC REEVALUATION OF RATES.—At 
the Secretary’s discretion, the Secretary shall, from 
time to time, adjust the amounts that would other-
wise be applicable under subparagraph (2) by a per-
centage determined appropriate by the Secretary to 
reflect such factors as changes in the intensity of 
services furnished within a unit of service, the aver-
age cost of providing care per unit of service, and 
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other factors that the Secretary considers to be rel-
evant. Such adjustment shall be made before the up-
date under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (2)(C)(i) 
has been applied for the year.’’. 
(d) WAIVER OF APPLICATION OF DEDUCTIBLE.— 
Section 1833(b)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395l(b)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or certified commu-
nity behavioral health clinic services’’ before the comma 
at the end. 
(e) PRRB REVIEW
OF COST REPORTS.—Section 
1878(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395oo(j)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘and a Federally qualified health 
center’’ and inserting ‘‘, a Federally qualified health cen-
ter, and a certified community behavioral health clinic’’. 
(f) SAFE HARBOR FOR WAIVER OF COINSURANCE.— 
Section 1128B(b)(3)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320a–7b(b)(3)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 
a certified community behavioral health clinic’’ after 
‘‘Federally qualified health care center’’. 
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to services furnished 
on or after January 1, 2024. 
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TITLE III—COMMUNITY BEHAV-
IORAL 
HEALTH 
CLINIC 
GRANTS 
SEC. 301. OPERATING GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY BEHAV-
IORAL HEALTH CLINICS. 
Part D of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘Subpart XIII—Community Behavioral Health 
Clinics 
‘‘SEC. 340J. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subpart: 
‘‘(1) 
CERTIFIED
COMMUNITY
BEHAVIORAL 
HEALTH CLINIC.—The term ‘certified community be-
havioral health clinic’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 1905(jj)(2)) of the Social Security 
Act. 
‘‘(2) 
CERTIFIED
COMMUNITY
BEHAVIORAL 
HEALTH SERVICES.—The term ‘certified community 
behavioral health services’ has the meaning given the 
term in section 1905(jj)(1) of the Social Security 
Act. 
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‘‘SEC. 340J–1. COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINIC 
CERTIFICATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of the Ensuring Excellence in Men-
tal Health Act, the Secretary, after public notice and op-
portunity for comment, shall publish in the Federal Reg-
ister criteria for a clinic to be certified as a community 
behavioral 
health 
clinic 
for 
purposes 
of 
section 
1905(jj)(2)(D)(ii) of the Social Security Act. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The criteria published under 
subsection (a) shall include criteria with respect to the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) STAFFING.—Staffing requirements, includ-
ing criteria that staff have diverse disciplinary back-
grounds, have necessary State-required license and 
accreditation, and are culturally and linguistically 
trained to serve the needs of the patient populations 
of the community behavioral health clinic. 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY
AND
ACCESSIBILITY
OF 
SERVICES.—Availability and accessibility of services, 
including crisis management services that are avail-
able and accessible 24 hours a day, the use of a slid-
ing scale for payment, and no rejection for services 
or limiting of services on the basis of a patient’s 
ability to pay or a place of residence. 
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‘‘(3) CARE COORDINATION.—Care coordination, 
including requirements to coordinate care across set-
tings and providers to ensure seamless transitions 
for patients across the full spectrum of health serv-
ices including acute, chronic, and behavioral health 
needs. Care coordination requirements shall include 
partnerships or formal contracts with the following: 
‘‘(A) Federally-qualified health centers (as 
defined in section 1905(l) of the Social Security 
Act) and, as applicable, rural health clinics (as 
so defined), to provide Federally-qualified 
health center services (as so defined) and, as 
applicable, rural health clinic services (as so de-
fined), to the extent such services are not pro-
vided directly through the community behav-
ioral health clinic. 
‘‘(B) Inpatient psychiatric facilities and 
substance use detoxification, post-detoxification 
step-down services, and residential programs. 
‘‘(C) Other community or regional services, 
supports, and providers, including schools, child 
welfare agencies, juvenile and criminal justice 
agencies and facilities, Indian Health Service 
youth regional treatment centers, State-licensed 
and nationally accredited child placing agencies 
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for therapeutic foster care service, and other so-
cial and human services. 
‘‘(D) Medical centers, outpatient clinics, 
and drop-in centers of the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs and other facilities of the Depart-
ment (as defined in section 1701 of title 38, 
United States Code). 
‘‘(E) Inpatient acute care hospitals and 
hospital outpatient clinics. 
‘‘(4) SCOPE
OF
SERVICES.—Provision (in a 
manner reflecting person-centered care) of the full 
array of certified community behavioral health serv-
ices which, if not available directly through the com-
munity behavioral health clinic, are provided or re-
ferred through formal relationships with other pro-
viders. 
‘‘(5) QUALITY
AND
OTHER
REPORTING.—Re-
quirements relating to development by the commu-
nity behavioral health clinic of an effective procedure 
for compiling and reporting to the Secretary such 
statistics and other information as the Secretary 
may require relating to— 
‘‘(A) the costs of its operations; 
‘‘(B) the patterns of use of its services, in-
cluding the reporting of encounter data, clinical 
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outcomes data, quality data, and such other 
data as the Secretary may require; 
‘‘(C) the availability, accessibility, and ac-
ceptability of its services; and 
‘‘(D) such other matters relating to oper-
ations of the applicant as the Secretary may re-
quire. 
‘‘(6) ORGANIZATIONAL
AUTHORITY.—Require-
ments that a community behavioral health clinic 
be— 
‘‘(A) a nonprofit entity; 
‘‘(B) part of a local government behavioral 
health authority; 
‘‘(C) operated under the authority of the 
Indian Health Service; 
‘‘(D) operated by an Indian Tribe or Trib-
al organization pursuant to a contract, grant, 
cooperative agreement, or compact with the In-
dian Health Service pursuant to the Indian 
Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act; or 
‘‘(E) operated by an urban Indian organi-
zation pursuant to a grant or contract with the 
Indian Health Service under title V of the In-
dian Health Care Improvement Act. 
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‘‘SEC. 340J–2. OPERATING GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY BE-
HAVIORAL HEALTH CLINICS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
grant program under which the Secretary shall award 
grants to eligible community behavioral health clinics to 
provide (in a manner reflecting person-centered care) the 
full array of certified community behavioral health serv-
ices. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under subsection (a), a community behavioral health clinic 
shall be— 
‘‘(1) a certified community behavioral health 
clinic; or 
‘‘(2) a community behavioral health clinic that 
indicates in the grant application that the clinic will 
use the grant funds to meet the criteria described in 
section 340J–1(a). 
‘‘(c) USE
OF FUNDS.—A community behavioral 
health clinic that receives a grant under subsection (a)— 
‘‘(1) shall use the grant funds— 
‘‘(A) to provide the services described in 
subsection (a); and 
‘‘(B) in the case of a community behavioral 
health clinic described in subsection (b)(2), to 
meet the criteria described in section 340J– 
1(a); and 
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‘‘(2) may use the grant funds— 
‘‘(A) to carry out other activities that— 
‘‘(i) reduce costs associated with the 
provision of certified community behavioral 
health services; 
‘‘(ii) improve access to, and avail-
ability of, certified community behavioral 
health services provided to individuals 
served by the community behavioral health 
clinic; 
‘‘(iii) enhance the quality and coordi-
nation of certified community behavioral 
health services; or 
‘‘(iv) improve the health status of 
communities; and 
‘‘(B) to pay for— 
‘‘(i) the costs of acquiring and leasing 
buildings and equipment (including the 
costs of amortizing the principal of, and 
paying interest on, loans); 
‘‘(ii) costs relating to the purchase or 
lease of equipment, including data and in-
formation systems and behavioral health 
information technology to facilitate data 
reporting and other purposes; 
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‘‘(iii) the costs of in-service staff 
training and other operational or infra-
structure costs identified by the Secretary; 
and 
‘‘(iv) costs associated with expanding 
and modernizing existing buildings or con-
structing new buildings (including the 
costs of amortizing the principal of, and 
paying the interest on, loans), if such costs 
are specifically allowed for in the grant op-
portunity published by the Secretary. 
‘‘(d) TERM.—Grants awarded under subsection (a) 
shall be for a period of not more than 5 years. 
‘‘(e) CONDITION ON RECEIPT OF FUNDS.—The Sec-
retary shall not make a grant to an applicant under sub-
section (a) unless the applicant provides assurances to the 
Secretary that within 120 days of receiving grant funding 
for the operation of the clinic, the applicant will submit 
for approval by the Secretary an implementation plan that 
describes how the applicant will— 
‘‘(1) provide the services described in subsection 
(a); and 
‘‘(2) in the case of a community behavioral 
health clinic described in subsection (b)(2), meet the 
criteria described in section 340J–1(a). 
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‘‘(f) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the amount of a grant made in any fiscal year to a 
community behavioral health clinic under subsection 
(a) shall be determined by the Secretary based on 
information provided by the community behavioral 
health clinic, but may not exceed an amount equal 
to the difference obtained by subtracting— 
‘‘(A) the sum obtained by adding— 
‘‘(i) the total State, local, and other 
operational funding provided to the clinic 
for such fiscal year; and 
‘‘(ii) the fees, premiums, and third- 
party reimbursements that the clinic rea-
sonably expects to receive for its operations 
in such fiscal year; from 
‘‘(B) the costs of operating the clinic to 
meet the purposes and requirements of the 
grant program under this section during such 
fiscal year. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In determining the 
costs described in paragraph (1)(B), the Sec-
retary may estimate the anticipated costs of the 
grant recipient in— 
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‘‘(i) providing the services described in 
subsection (a), including the anticipated 
costs of providing any individual certified 
community behavioral health service that 
the applicant entity does not have cost ex-
perience providing at the time of submit-
ting an application for such grant; and 
‘‘(ii) if applicable, meeting the criteria 
described in section 340J–1(a). 
‘‘(B) ANTICIPATED COSTS.—The Secretary 
shall base the estimate of anticipated costs 
under subparagraph (A) on an estimate of an-
ticipated costs provided by the applicable com-
munity behavioral health clinic. 
‘‘(3) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary may— 
‘‘(A) award grants under subsection (a)— 
‘‘(i) in advance or through reimburse-
ment; and 
‘‘(ii) in installments; 
‘‘(B) make adjustments to account for 
overpayments or underpayments. 
‘‘(g) USE OF ACCREDITATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In selecting grant recipi-
ents under this section, the Secretary may take into 
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account whether an applicant community behavioral 
health clinic is accredited under section 340J–5(a). 
‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—In determining whether a 
community behavioral health clinic receiving a grant 
under this section is providing the services described 
in subsection (a) and, if applicable, meeting the cri-
teria described in section 340J–1(a), the Secretary 
may take into account whether the community be-
havioral health clinic is accredited under section 
340J–5(a). 
‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $552,500,000 
for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 
‘‘(2) 
MAINTENANCE
OF
FUNDING.—The 
amount made available under paragraph (1) shall 
supplement (and not supplant) any other Federal 
funding made available for community behavioral 
health clinics. 
‘‘SEC. 340J–3. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of the Ensuring Excellence in Men-
tal Health Act, the Secretary shall establish programs 
through which the Secretary shall provide (either through 
the Department of Health and Human Services or by 
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grant or contract) technical assistance and other assist-
ance to any of the following: 
‘‘(1) Entities that receive a grant under section 
340J–2. 
‘‘(2) Entities participating in a Medicaid dem-
onstration program under section 223(d) of the Pro-
tecting Access to Medicare Act. 
‘‘(3) Certified community behavioral health clin-
ics (as defined in sections 1861(aa)(8) and 
1905(jj)(2) of the Social Security Act), furnishing 
services under title XVIII or title XIX of such Act. 
‘‘(4) Health or social service provider organiza-
tions pursuing or considering certified community 
behavioral health clinic status or partnering with 
certified community behavioral health clinics. 
‘‘(5) Other stakeholders, for the purpose of fa-
cilitating successful implementation of the certified 
community behavioral health clinic model. 
‘‘(b) INCLUSIONS.—Assistance provided by the Sec-
retary under subsection (a) may include technical and 
nonfinancial assistance, including— 
‘‘(1) fiscal and program management assist-
ance; 
‘‘(2) operational and administrative support; 
and 
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‘‘(3) the provision of information to the entities 
about the variety of resources available under this 
part and how those resources can be best used to 
meet the health and behavioral health needs of the 
communities served by the entities. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 
‘‘SEC. 340J–4. DATA INFRASTRUCTURE FOR COMMUNITY 
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINIC REPORTING. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of the Ensuring Excellence in Men-
tal Health Act, the Secretary shall establish a system 
under which the Secretary shall collect and analyze data 
on community behavioral health clinics. 
‘‘(b) SCOPE OF DATA COLLECTION.—The system es-
tablished under subsection (a) shall be used by the Sec-
retary to collect and analyze data from— 
‘‘(1) entities that receive a grant under section 
340J–2; and 
‘‘(2) organizations that provide services, or have 
applied to provide services, under title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act, as described in section 
1861(aa)(8) of such Act, or under a State Medicaid 
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program in accordance with section 1905(jj) of such 
Act. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$51,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 
‘‘SEC. 340J–5. COMMUNITY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINIC 
ACCREDITATION. 
‘‘(a) ACCREDITATION STANDARDS.—A community 
behavioral health clinic may be accredited if the entity— 
‘‘(1) meets the standards of an approved ac-
creditation body; and 
‘‘(2) authorizes the accreditation body to sub-
mit to the Secretary (or such agency as the Sec-
retary may designate) such records or other infor-
mation as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(b) APPROVAL OF ACCREDITATION BODIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may approve 
a private nonprofit organization to be an accredita-
tion body for the accreditation of community behav-
ioral health clinics under subsection (a) if— 
‘‘(A) using inspectors qualified to evaluate 
quality of care in a behavioral health service 
setting, the accreditation body agrees to inspect 
the clinic with such frequency as is determined 
by the Secretary; 
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