General Assembly Raised Bill No. 458
February Session, 2020 LCO No. 2883
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING COMPLEX CARE NAVIGATORS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
1 Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section and section
2 20-195sss of the general statutes, as amended by this act, "complex care
3 navigator" means a community health worker, who (1) has experience
4 in health care coordination for persons with complex medical needs,
5 including, but not limited to, a cancer diagnosis, and (2) meets the
6 qualification requirements established by the Office of Health Strategy
7 pursuant to subsection (d) of section 20-195sss of the general statutes, as
8 amended by this act.
9 (b) Not later than October 1, 2020, the Commissioner of Social
10 Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, shall
11 establish a pilot program to incorporate the use of complex care
12 navigators into the Department of Social Services' Person-Centered
13 Medical Home Plus program.
14 (c) Not later than January 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the
15 Commissioner of Social Services shall report, in accordance with section
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16 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the
17 General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human
18 services and public health on the pilot program's effectiveness in
19 increasing the health outcomes of its participants.
20 Sec. 2. Section 20-195sss of the general statutes is repealed and the
21 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
22 (a) As used in this section and section 1 of this act, "community health
23 worker" means a public health outreach professional with an in-depth
24 understanding of the experience, language, culture and socioeconomic
25 needs of the community who (1) serves as a liaison between individuals
26 within the community and health care and social services providers to
27 facilitate access to such services and health-related resources, improve
28 the quality and cultural competence of the delivery of such services and
29 address social determinants of health with a goal toward reducing
30 racial, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic health disparities, and (2)
31 increases health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of
32 services including outreach, engagement, education, coaching, informal
33 counseling, social support, advocacy, care coordination, research
34 related to social determinants of health and basic screenings and
35 assessments of any risks associated with social determinants of health.
36 (b) The executive director of the Office of Health Strategy, established
37 under section 19a-754a, shall, within available resources and in
38 consultation with the Community Health Worker Advisory Committee
39 established by said office and the Commissioner of Public Health, study
40 the feasibility of creating a certification program for community health
41 workers. Such study shall examine the fiscal impact of implementing
42 such a certification program and include recommendations for (1)
43 requirements for certification and renewal of certification of community
44 health workers, including any training, experience or continuing
45 education requirements, (2) methods for administering a certification
46 program, including a certification application, a standardized
47 assessment of experience, knowledge and skills, and an electronic
48 registry, and (3) requirements for recognizing training program
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49 curricula that are sufficient to satisfy the requirements of certification.
50 (c) Not later than October 1, 2018, the executive director of the Office
51 of Health Strategy shall report, in accordance with the provisions of
52 section 11-4a, on the results of such study and recommendations to the
53 joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance
54 of matters relating to public health and human services.
55 (d) Not later than October 1, 2020, the executive director of the Office
56 of Health Strategy, in consultation with the Commissioners of Public
57 Health and Social Services, shall establish qualification requirements for
58 a community health worker who seeks to participate as a complex care
59 navigator in the pilot program established pursuant to section 1 of this
60 act.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage 20-195sss
Statement of Purpose:
To increase access to complex care navigators.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
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Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 20-195sss