The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is testing a new community-based behavioral health services model that aims to improve access and quality, the Health and Human Services Department announced Thursday.
Under the Innovation in Behavioral Health Model, physical and mental healthcare providers will form interprofessional care teams with community organizations, which will coordinate care for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees with mental illnesses and substance-use disorders. HHS described the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation project as an plank in President Joe Biden's broader mental health agenda.
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"We recognize that behavioral health is health, that there's no separating the two and that there really should be no wrong door for the American people who are seeking treatment for either a mental health issue or a substance-use disorder," HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm said during a press event in Washington.
Participants will include community mental health centers, physician offices, opioid-use disorder treatment programs and safety net providers. In addition to medical and behavioral health services, the interprofessional teams will assist enrollees with access to social needs such as housing, food, and transportation.
The Innovation in Behavioral Health Model is scheduled to launch in as many as eight states this fall and to run for eight years. States will be able to apply this spring, CMS said in a news release.
The administration is offering incentives for participants to screen, assess and coordinate patients' physical and behavioral healthcare. CMS will offer funding to facilitate setting up infrastructure such as health information technology capacity.
Mental health advocates welcomed the initiative.
"For far too long, mental health and physical health have been treated separately, leading to significant health inequities," said Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "We praise the Biden administration for focusing on the integration of care, especially in mental healthcare settings."
