A Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) is a new form of provider within the Medicaid program, established by the Excellent in Mental Health Act. CCBHCs are designed to provide whole-person care by integrating physical health with a comprehensive range of mental health and substance use disorder services to vulnerable individuals.
The CCBHC model is designed to ensure access to coordinated comprehensive behavioral health care. CCBHCs are required to serve anyone who requests care for mental health or substance use, regardless of their ability to pay, place of residence, or age, including what is developmentally appropriate for children. CCBHCs must meet standards for the range of services they provide, and they are required to get people into care quickly.
An important feature of the CCBHC model is that it requires crisis services that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CCBHCs are required to provide a comprehensive array of behavioral health services so that people who need care don’t have to piece together the behavioral health support they need across multiple providers. In addition, CCBHCs must provide a care coordinator to help people navigate behavioral health care, physical health care, social services, and other systems they are involved in.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act extended this model across all 50 states. According to SAMSHA, over 11,000 new behavioral healthcare jobs have been created. Timeliness of access across care coordination, reporting, and staffing all create a scope of services that results in a Medicaid Payment through the Prospective Payment System. Rates that are paid through the daily PPS model are a riskier arrangement than a monthly model. Therefore, the more intense and person-centered a provided service is, the more the payment is likely to be incentivized. Some states incentivize the targeting of special populations including the justice involved. See the infographic below provided by The National Council to learn of the impact the CCBHCs have had across the country in 2022.
But here in New York, this program has been in existence since 2017, when NY state became one of the first 8 states to launch a demonstration program. The NYS Office of Mental Health and Office of Addition Services and Supports and the Department of Health has announced the development of 13 new Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) within the 10 economic development regions of NY State, participating in the Federal CCBHC Demonstration as approved by Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
It is expected that these clinics offer 24-hour mobile crisis teams, emergency crisis intervention, and crisis stabilization, screening assessment and diagnosis including risk assessment, patient-centered treatment planning or similar processes, crisis planning, outpatient clinic primary care screening and monitoring of key health indicators, targeted case management, peer support, and family support services for community-based members and members of the armed forces and veterans.
‘One-Stop Care’ as it has been referred to by Senator Schumer, Governor Hochul, and other state leaders, has proven to reduce ER visits and psychiatric hospitalizations, leading to better patient outcomes and lower costs. But more importantly, it has led to improved health and well-being for those who need it most.
Other Sources: SAMSHA, NYSOASAS, NYSOMH, NYSDOH, NYSGov, WhiteHouse.gov