SB 927

2019 Wisconsin Act 122

requires the Department of Health Services to

establish and maintain a program related to referral and treatment services

following a substance use overdose including that overdose treatment providers

coordinate and continue care and treatment after an overdose and use peer recovery

coaches to encourage individuals to seek treatment among other requirements. Act

122 also requires DHS to provide reimbursement under the Medical Assistance

program for services provided by peer recovery coaches if those services meet certain

criteria. As part of those criteria, peer recovery coaches have to provide services

under mental health professionals who have been trained in subjects specified in Act

122 and have to have completed 24 hours of supervised volunteer or paid work

experience involving certain areas of practice and at least 10 hours training in each

of the following: advocacy, mentoring and education, recovery and wellness support,

and ethical responsibility as specified by DHS by rule. Act 122 includes those

services provided by a peer recovery coach as a benefit to Medical Assistance

program recipients.

This bill changes the terminology from peer recovery coach to peer recovery

specialist. The bill also specifies that “peer recovery specialist” includes any peer

recovery coach, certified peer specialist, certified peer parent specialist, and any

other provider type DHS determines qualifies as a peer recovery specialist. The bill

maintains the requirement that a peer recovery specialist provide services under the

supervision of a mental health professional to receive Medical Assistance program

reimbursement but eliminates the requirement that the supervising mental health

professional have training in certain specified subjects. The bill also eliminates the

specific requirements for supervised volunteer or paid work experience and 40 hours

of training on peer recovery specialists to receive and instead requires only the

training requirements that DHS establishes by rule.