GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 551
Short Title: Clubhouse Expansion. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Alston, Crawford, White, and Hawkins (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
March 31, 2025
*H551 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROMOTE GREATER ACCESS TO CLUBHOUSE MODEL PSYCHOSO CIAL 2
REHABILITATION DAY P ROGRAMS FOR INDIVIDU ALS WITH SEVERE AND 3
PERSISTENT MENTAL ILLNESS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1.(a) The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental 6
Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services (DMH/DD/SUS), shall develop 7
and implement a plan for a statewide reimbursement methodology for State funded behavioral 8
health services provided to adults with a severe and persistent mental illness diagnosis who are 9
served by a Clubhouse model psychosocial rehabilitation day program. The plan shall include all 10
of the following: 11
(1) Incentives for clubhouses to become accredited by Clubhouse International. 12
(2) Consistent application of rates throughout regions served by local 13
management entities/managed care organizations (LME/MCOs). 14
(3) Education and training for LME/MCO staff and relevant staff within the 15
Department of Health and Human Services on the Clubhouse model and its 16
use in serving individuals with severe and persistent mental illness in this 17
State. 18
(4) A new service definition. 19
SECTION 1.(b) No later than June 1, 2026, DMH/DD/SUS shall submit a report to 20
the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services that contains all of the 21
following information related to the plan required by subsection (a) of this section: 22
(1) The proposed reimbursement methodology. 23
(2) A proposed time line for implementation for the reimbursement methodology. 24
(3) Any costs associated with implementation of the reimbursement 25
methodology. 26
(4) Details on the education and training developed for LME/MCOs and staff of 27
the Department of Health and Human Services. 28
(5) Details pertaining to lifting barriers to accessing services and lifting 29
burdensome service requirements. 30
(6) Any new service definitions created pursuant to this section. 31
SECTION 2. Effective July 1, 2026, there is appropriated from the General Fund to 32
the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental 33
Disabilities, and Substance Use Services, the sum of two million five hundred thousand dollars 34
($2,500,000) in recurring funds for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to be used to implement the plan 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 551-First Edition
under Section 1 of this act and provide funding for Clubhouse International (CI) accredited 1
member Clubhouses for current programs, expansion of services or locations served, 2
accreditation costs of a Clubhouse, or staff and Clubhouse member training and professional 3
development. 4
SECTION 3. The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health 5
Benefits, shall, to the extent allowable under G.S. 108A-54.1A, provide Medicaid coverage for 6
services included in the plan developed by DMH/DD/SUS pursuant to Section 1 of this act. 7
SECTION 4. This act is effective when it becomes law. 8