Eight states to participate in Medicaid behavioral health demonstration

Minnesota, Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania will participate in a two-year demonstration program authorized by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 that will pay certified community behavioral health clinics under a prospective payment system to provide evidence-based behavioral health services and supports to Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program beneficiaries, the Department of Health and Human Services announced recently. Participating clinics will coordinate care with primary care providers and hospitals in the community and report on quality measures. The states, among 24 that received 2015 planning grants to prepare for the demonstration, have until July 1 to begin the program.