I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5116 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to extend health information tech-
nology assistance eligibility to behavioral health, mental health, and sub-
stance abuse professionals and facilities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2023 
Ms. MATSUI (for herself, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, and 
Mr. ESTES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to extend health 
information technology assistance eligibility to behavioral 
health, mental health, and substance abuse professionals 
and facilities, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Behavioral Health In-
formation Technology Coordination Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 
GRANTS. 
Subtitle B of title XXX of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj–31 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 3019. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INFORMATION TECH-
NOLOGY GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The National Coordinator 
shall award grants to eligible behavioral health care 
providers to promote behavioral health integration 
and improve care coordination for persons with men-
tal health and substance use disorders. 
‘‘(2) NOFO.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of the Behavioral Health In-
formation Technology Coordination Act, the Na-
tional Coordinator shall publish a Notice of Funding 
Opportunity for the grants described in paragraph 
(1). 
‘‘(b) 
GEOGRAPHIC
DISTRIBUTION.—In 
making 
grants under subsection (a), the National Coordinator 
shall— 
‘‘(1) to the maximum extent practicable, ensure 
an equitable geographical distribution of grant re-
cipients throughout the United States; and 
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‘‘(2) give due consideration to applicants from 
both urban and rural areas. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.—To be eligible to receive 
a grant under subsection (a), a behavioral health care pro-
vider shall be— 
‘‘(1) a physician (as defined in section 
1861(r)(1) of the Social Security Act) who special-
izes in psychiatry or addiction medicine; 
‘‘(2) a clinical psychologist providing qualified 
psychologist services (as defined in section 1861(ii) 
of such Act); 
‘‘(3) a nurse practitioner (as defined in 
section1861(aa)(5)(A) of such Act) with respect to 
the provision of psychiatric services; 
‘‘(4) a clinical social worker (as defined in 
section1861(hh)(1) of such Act); 
‘‘(5) a psychiatric hospital (as defined in section 
1861(f) of such Act); 
‘‘(6) a community mental health center that 
meets the criteria specified in section 1913(c); or 
‘‘(7) a residential or outpatient mental health 
or substance abuse treatment facility. 
‘‘(d) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible behav-
ioral health care provider receiving a grant under sub-
section (a) shall use the grant funds— 
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‘‘(1) to purchase or upgrade health information 
technology software and support services needed to 
appropriately provide behavioral health care services 
and, where feasible, facilitate behavioral health inte-
gration; 
‘‘(2) to demonstrate (through a process speci-
fied by the Secretary, such as the use of attestation) 
that the eligible behavioral health care provider has 
acquired health information technology that meets 
the certification criteria described in the final rule of 
the Office of the National Coordinator for Health 
Information Technology of the Department of 
Health and Human Services entitled ‘2015 Edition 
Health Information Technology (Health IT) Certifi-
cation Criteria, 2015 Edition Base Electronic 
Health Record (EHR) Definition, and ONC Health 
IT Certification Program Modifications’ (80 Fed. 
Reg. 62602 (October 16, 2015)) (or successor cri-
teria); 
‘‘(3) to ensure that such health information 
technology is fully compliant with the regulations 
specified in the final rule of the Centers for Medi-
care & Medicaid Services entitled ‘Medicare and 
Medicaid Programs; Patient Protection and Afford-
able Care Act; Interoperability and Patient Access 
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for Medicare Advantage Organization and Medicaid 
Managed Care Plans, State Medicaid Agencies, 
CHIP Agencies and CHIP Managed Care Entities, 
Issuers of Qualified Health Plans on the Federally- 
Facilitated Exchanges, and Health Care Providers’ 
(85 Fed. Reg. 25510 (May 1, 2020)), including by 
demonstrating the capacity to exchange patient clin-
ical data with primary care physicians, medical spe-
cialty providers and acute care hospitals, psychiatric 
hospitals, and hospital emergency departments; and 
‘‘(4) to promote, where feasible, the implemen-
tation and improvement of bidirectional integrated 
services, including evidence-informed screening, as-
sessment, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, recovery, 
and coordinated discharge planning services for 
mental health and substance use disorders, and co- 
occurring physical health conditions and chronic dis-
eases. 
‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible behavioral health 
care provider seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(f) GRANT AMOUNTS.—The amount of a grant 
under subsection (a) shall be not more than $2,000,000. 
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‘‘(g) DURATION.—A grant under subsection (a) shall 
be for a period of not more than 2 years. 
‘‘(h) REPORTING
ON PROGRAM OUTCOMES.—Not 
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Be-
havioral Health Information Technology Coordination Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a report that describes the implementation of the 
grant program under this section, including— 
‘‘(1) information on the number and type of be-
havioral health care providers that have acquired 
and implemented certified health information tech-
nology described in section 3001(c)(5)(C)(iv), includ-
ing a description of any advances or challenges re-
lated to such acquisition and implementation; 
‘‘(2) information on the number and type of be-
havioral health care providers that received a grant 
under this section; 
‘‘(3) information on whether the number of, 
and rate of participation by, eligible behavioral 
health care providers, including behavioral health 
care providers that received a grant under this sec-
tion, participating in Medicare and Medicaid under 
a value based or capitated payment arrangement has 
increased during the grant program; 
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‘‘(4) the extent to which eligible behavioral 
health care providers that received a grant under 
this section are able to electronically exchange pa-
tient health information with local partners, includ-
ing primary care physicians, medical specialty pro-
viders and acute care hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, 
hospital emergency departments, health information 
exchanges, Medicare Advantage plans under part C 
of title XVIII of the Social Security Act, medicaid 
managed care organizations (as defined in section 
1903(m)(1)(A) of such Act), and related entities; 
‘‘(5) the extent to which eligible behavioral 
health care providers that received a grant under 
this section are measuring and electronically report-
ing patient clinical and non-clinical outcomes using 
common quality-reporting metrics established by the 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, such as 
the child and adult health quality measures pub-
lished under sections 1139A and 1139B of the So-
cial Security Act and quality measures under section 
1848(q) of such Act; and 
‘‘(6) evaluation of the impact and effectiveness 
of grants under this section on advancing access to 
care, quality of care, interoperable exchange of pa-
tient health information between behavioral health 
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and medical health providers, and recommendations 
on how to use health information technology to im-
prove such outcomes. 
‘‘(i) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall require the Ad-
ministrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv-
ices, the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Sub-
stance Use, and the National Coordinator to develop joint 
guidance on how States can use Medicaid authorities and 
funding sources (including waiver authority under section 
1115 of the Social Security Act, directed payments, en-
hanced Federal matching rates for certain expenditures, 
Federal funding for technical assistance, and payment and 
service delivery models tested by the Center for Medicare 
and Medicaid Innovation under section 1115A of the So-
cial Security Act and other Federal resources to promote 
the adoption and interoperability of certified health infor-
mation technology described in section 3001(c)(5)(C)(iv). 
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 
SEC. 
3. 
VOLUNTARY 
STANDARDS 
FOR 
BEHAVIORAL 
HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 
Section 3001(c)(5)(C) of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj–11(c)(5)(C)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
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‘‘(iv) VOLUNTARY
STANDARDS
FOR 
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INFORMATION TECH-
NOLOGY.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of the Behavioral Health Infor-
mation Technology Coordination Act, 
the National Coordinator and the As-
sistant Secretary for Mental Health 
and Substance Use, acting jointly, in 
consultation with appropriate stake-
holders, shall develop recommenda-
tions for the voluntary certification of 
health information technology for be-
havioral health care that does not in-
clude a separate certification program 
for behavioral health care and practice 
settings. 
‘‘(II) 
CONSIDERATIONS.—The 
recommendations under subclause (I) 
shall take into consideration issues 
such as privacy, minimum clinical 
data standards, and sharing relevant 
patient health data across the behav-
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ioral health care, primary health care, 
and specialty health care systems.’’. 
Æ 
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