119-s2050

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2050 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2050

 To amend the Social Security Act to provide for an increased Federal 
 medical assistance percentage for State expenditures on certain 
 behavioral health services furnished under the Medicaid program, and 
 for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 June 12, 2025

 Mr. Warnock (for himself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Smith, Ms. 
 Alsobrooks, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Social Security Act to provide for an increased Federal 
 medical assistance percentage for State expenditures on certain 
 behavioral health services furnished under the Medicaid program, and 
 for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Advancing Student Services In 
Schools Today Act'' or the ``ASSIST Act''.

SEC. 2. INCREASING THE APPLICABLE FMAP FOR STATE EXPENDITURES 
 ATTRIBUTABLE TO CERTAIN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES.

 

Section 1905 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d) is 
amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (b) , by striking ``and
            (ii) '' and 
 inserting ``
            (ii) , and

    (kk) ''; and

    (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
 ``

    (kk) Increased FMAP for Medical Assistance for Services Furnished 
by Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Care Providers in Certain 
School-Based Settings.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any preceding provision 
 of this section, with respect to State expenditures for medical 
 assistance consisting of services provided by a mental health 
 and substance use disorder care provider (as defined in 

section 3 of the Advancing Student Services In Schools Today Act) and 
 furnished at a school or at a school-based health center (as 
 defined in 

section 399Z-1

    (a)

    (3) of the Public Health Service 
 Act) on or after the first day of the first calendar quarter 
 beginning on or after the date that is 12 months after the date 
 of the enactment of this subsection, the Federal medical 
 assistance percentage otherwise determined under subsection

    (b) shall, subject to paragraph

    (2) , be equal to 90 percent.
 ``

    (2) Application of higher match.--Paragraph

    (1) shall not 
 apply in the case of State expenditures described in such 
 paragraph if application of such paragraph would result in a 
 lower Federal medical assistance percentage for such 
 expenditures than would otherwise apply without application of 
 such paragraph.
 ``

    (3) Exclusion of expenditures from territorial cap.--Any 
 payment made to a territory for expenditures for medical 
 assistance described in paragraph

    (1) that are subject to the 
 Federal medical assistance percentage specified under such 
 paragraph shall not be taken into account for purposes of 
 applying payment limits under subsections

    (f) and

    (g) of 
 

section 1108 to the extent that such payment exceeds the amount 
 of the payment that would have been made to the territory for 
 such expenditures without regard to this subsection.''.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM TO INCREASE MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER 
 CARE PROVIDERS IN SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH 
 CENTERS.

    (a) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress finds that the lack of access to mental 
health and substance use disorder care in schools and school-based 
health centers has a negative impact on the health of children in the 
United States, including children who are eligible for coverage under 
the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program.

    (b) Grant Authority.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(referred to in this section as the ``Secretary''), in consultation 
with the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
and the Secretary of Education, shall award grants, contracts, or 
cooperative agreements to eligible entities to increase the number of 
mental health and substance use disorder care providers in schools and 
school-based health centers served by such entities.
            (c) Application.--An eligible entity seeking an award under this 
section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
require, including a description of--

    (1) the mental health and substance use disorder needs of 
 the student population served by the eligible entity; and

    (2) with respect to the student population served by the 
 eligible entity, how the eligible entity will ensure that the 
 mental health and substance use disorder care providers 
 supported by the eligible entity, and the services administered 
 by such providers, are culturally competent and linguistically 
 appropriate.
            (d) Restriction.--No funds made available through an award under 
this section may be used for a threat assessment team.

    (e) Reporting.--

    (1) Eligible entity reporting.--Eligible entities receiving 
 an award under this section shall submit an annual report to 
 the Secretary accompanied by such information as the Secretary 
 may require, including--
        (A) the number of mental health and substance use 
 disorder care providers working at the schools or 
 school-based health centers served by the eligible 
 entity, and the number of such providers supported 
 through the award;
        (B) the types of services provided by the mental 
 health and substance use disorder care providers and 
 the efficacy of such services;
            (C) the practices used by the schools or school-
 based health centers served by the eligible entity to 
 recruit and retain mental health and substance use 
 disorder care providers; and
            (D) the rates of retention of mental health and 
 substance use disorder care providers at the school or 
 school-based health center.

    (2) Secretary.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
 enactment of this section, and every 5 years thereafter, the 
 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 
 effectiveness of the awards under this section.

    (f) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
        (A) a local educational agency, as defined in 
 

section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801);
        (B) an institution of higher education, as defined 
 in 

section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
 U.S.C. 1001);
            (C) a school operated by the Bureau of Indian 
 Affairs; or
            (D) a school-based health center, as defined in 
 

section 399Z-1

    (a)

    (3) of the Public Health Service Act 
 (42 U.S.C. 280h-5

    (a)

    (3) ).

    (2) Mental health and substance use disorder care 
 provider.--The term ``mental health and substance use disorder 
 care provider'' means an individual who is licensed or 
 credentialed to provide mental health and substance use 
 disorder services, including--
        (A) a school counselor;
        (B) a school psychologist or any other 
 psychologist;
            (C) a psychiatrist who specializes in child or 
 adolescent psychiatry;
            (D) a school social worker;
        (E) a peer support specialist or peer recovery 
 coach;
        (F) a licensed clinical social worker;
        (G) an addiction medicine specialist; and
        (H) other providers, as the Secretary determines 
 appropriate.
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