The bill creates a new statutory designation called a "behavioral health teaching clinic" for licensed or certified behavioral health agencies that meet state minimum teaching and billing standards and provides for those designated clinics to be reimbursed at an enhanced rate. The designation lasts three years. The Department of Health must adopt rules to implement a provision that deems a designated teaching clinic that submits its training program to the department as having met all statutory and regulatory behavioral health agency training requirements. The measure makes several procedural and funding-related changes: the Washington State Health Care Authority must work with a statewide behavioral health organization, hire an actuarial firm to finalize the enhanced-rate methodology, develop a plan for phased statewide implementation by June 30, 2026, consult with tribes and tribal behavioral health agencies, and seek federal approval from CMS for federal financial participation in the enhancement by June 30, 2027. The authority must report progress to the governor and legislative committees by December 31, 2025, and submit a final report by December 31, 2026. The statutory eligibility and program requirements for teaching clinic designation include being in good standing with licensing/certification, training interns or trainees, attesting to equitable admissions policies, billing according to payor and agency structures, providing at least a stipend or honorarium when not precluded by educational institutions, providing space and resources, assigning credentialed supervisors, and supplying a minimum of one hour per week of clinical supervision. The bill adds new sections to chapter 71.24 RCW and reenacts and amends RCW 71.24.025. It also defines many related terms (for example, 23-hour crisis relief center, 988 crisis hotline, "acutely mentally ill," the "authority" as the Washington State Health Care Authority, and the "department" as the Department of Health) and references numerous existing statutes. Important details are missing from the extracted text, including the specific payment amounts, the finalized enhanced-rate methodology and teaching clinic payment structure, and portions of some definitions that were cut off in the provided material.

If enacted, the bill creates a new "behavioral health teaching clinic" label that lets qualifying licensed or certified behavioral health agencies train interns and receive higher reimbursement for services they bill while those interns are involved. Agencies that become designated will have to provide supervised training (at least one hour of clinical supervision per week), give interns a stipend or honorarium when allowed, provide comparable workspace and resources, hold agreements with educational programs, and use continuous quality improvement; the department will treat submitted training programs as meeting state training requirements, which should reduce duplicate compliance checks. The designation lasts three years and is intended to offset the added supervision and training duties by paying an enhanced rate. The groups most affected are community behavioral health agencies (including tribal providers), the Health Care Authority, the Department of Health, behavioral health administrative services organizations, and educational institutions that place interns. Agencies that pursue designation are likely to gain new revenue potential but also face new costs and staff time commitments to meet supervision and stipend rules; some agencies may need to invest up front before enhanced payments begin. Key details that will determine real financial impact—exact payment amounts, the finalized rate methodology, and whether federal matching funds are approved—are not included in the provided text, and the authority must complete those steps and reports by mid-2026 and mid-2027, so timing and net fiscal effects remain uncertain.