AN ACT to promote greater access to clubhouse model psychosocial rehabilitation day programs for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness in north carolina.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Benefits (DHB), shall develop and, to the extent allowed under G.S. 108A‑54.1A, implement a plan for a statewide reimbursement methodology for behavioral health services provided to adult Medicaid beneficiaries with severe and persistent mental illness who are served by a clubhouse model psychosocial rehabilitation day program. The plan shall include all of the following:

(1)        Incentives for clubhouses to become accredited by Clubhouse International.

(2)        Consistent application of rates throughout regions served by local management entities/managed care organizations (LME/MCOs).

(3)        Education and training for LME/MCO staff and relevant staff within the Department of Health and Human Services on the clubhouse model and its use in serving individuals with severe and persistent mental illness in this State.

SECTION 1.(b)  No later than December 1, 2025, DHB shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid that contains all of the following information related to the plan required by subsection (a) of this section:

(1)        The proposed reimbursement methodology.

(2)        A proposed time line for implementation for the reimbursement methodology.

(3)        Any costs associated with implementation of the reimbursement methodology.

(4)        Details on the education and training developed for LME/MCOs and staff of the Department of Health and Human Services.

SECTION 2.  Effective July 1, 2025, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the North Carolina Clubhouse Coalition, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, the sum of two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) in recurring funds for each year of the 2025‑2027 fiscal biennium to be used to provide funding for member clubhouses for current programs, expansion of services or locations served, accreditation of a clubhouse, or staff training and professional development.

SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.