SEC. 7. PATIENT-CENTERED CARE. 
(a) PROMOTION IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS.—With re-
spect to any program that provides for the Department 
of Health and Human Services, the Department of Jus-
tice, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of 
Defense, or the Department of Education to pay for or 
provide mental health and substance use care, each such 
Department shall provide for the following: 
(1) Within the authority of the Department 
with respect to such program— 
(A) include payment for, or provision of, 
peer support and illness self-management pro-
grams that meet evidence-based standards for 
individuals with chronic mental illnesses or sub-
stance use dependence; and 
(B) provide for appropriate payment and 
coverage reforms, such as the application of co-
payments, service exclusions, and benefit limits, 
so as to eliminate barriers to the effective, ap-
propriate, and evidence-based provision of such 
care. 
(2) Endeavor to make reliable comparative in-
formation on the quality of such care provided by 
practitioners and organizations available to con-
sumers and to encourage consumers to use this in-
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formation when making decisions about from whom 
to receive such care. 
(3) Insofar as the Department does not have 
authority described in paragraph (1), make rec-
ommendations to the Congress regarding changes in 
law to provide for such authority. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS FOR ALL PROGRAMS.—It 
is the sense of the Congress that clinicians and organiza-
tions providing mental health and substance use treatment 
services should— 
(1) incorporate, consistent with applicable State 
laws, informed, patient-centered decisionmaking and 
(for 
children) 
informed 
family 
decisionmaking 
throughout their practices, including active patient 
participation in the design and revision of the pa-
tient treatment and recovery plans, psychiatric ad-
vance directives, and provision of information on the 
availability and effectiveness of mental health and 
substance use treatment options; 
(2) adopt recovery-oriented and illness self- 
management practices that support patient pref-
erence for treatment (including medications), peer 
support, and other elements of the wellness recovery 
plan; and 
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(3) maintain effective, formal linkages with 
community resources to support patient illness self- 
management and recovery. 
SEC. 8. UNIFORM METHODOLOGIES FOR REIMBURSING BE-
HAVIORAL HEALTH CLAIMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the work-
ing group convened under subsection (b), shall develop 
uniform methodologies across geographic areas and types 
of payers for the following with respect to medical assist-
ance, related services, and administrative costs furnished 
to individuals with mental illnesses and substance use dis-
orders in both community-based and residential settings: 
(1) Qualifications for eligibility for payment. 
(2) Financial auditing. 
(3) Claims payment (including billing codes). 
(b) CONVENING
OF WORKING GROUP.—The Sec-
retary shall carry out subsection (a) by convening a work-
ing group is composed of the Directors and Administrators 
of all relevant agencies, including the Centers for Medicare 
& Medicaid Services, the Office of Management and Budg-
et, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra-
tion, the office of the Inspector General of the Department 
of Health and Human Services, acting jointly with State 
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Medicaid directors and other State, local, and private 
healthcare payers. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The methodology developed 
under subsection (a)— 
(1) shall not result in new medical necessity cri-
teria, and shall not prohibit or restrict payment for 
medical assistance, related services, and administra-
tive activities under title XIX of the Social Security 
Act that are provided or conducted in accordance 
with options under such title regarding targeted case 
management, rehabilitative services, or clinical serv-
ices; and 
(2) with respect to administrative costs, shall be 
based on— 
(A) standards related to time studies and 
populations estimates; and 
(B) a national standard for determining 
payment of such costs. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed as requiring, as a condition of pay-
ment under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the 
Social Security Act, that an intervention must be an evi-
dence-based practice. 
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SEC. 9. STUDY ON USE OF PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH AND 
ADDICTION SERVICES BY INDIVIDUALS WITH 
PRIVATE HEALTH COVERAGE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a study on the use of publicly 
supported mental health and addiction services by individ-
uals who have any level of private health insurance cov-
erage. 
(b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 
to the Congress a report on the study under subsection 
(a). The report shall include a description of— 
(1) the number of individuals described in sub-
section (a); 
(2) the types of private health insurance cov-
erage involved; and 
(3) the public programs providing the mental 
health and addiction services involved and the cost 
of such services provided. 
SEC. 10. HIGH-QUALITY MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE 
USE HEALTH CARE MEDICAID DEMONSTRA-
TION PROJECT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 5- 
year demonstration project (in this section referred to as 
the ‘‘project’’) designed to demonstrate the impact of cre-
ating delivery and financing structures that deliver high- 
quality, integrated mental health and substance use health 
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