Mental Health

Funding for Community Health Workers Authorized in Consolidated Appropriations Act – How could this help children and families?

We’ve written about several of the exciting health provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 that was signed into law in December here on Say Ahhh!: to recap, Joan Alker wrote about the permanent mandatory 12-month continuous eligibility requirement and other important provisions, Tricia Brooks detailed the new guardrails and transparency requirements as states […]

Natalie Lawson

January 13, 2023

Congress Includes Medicaid, CHIP Mental Health Provisions in End of Year Funding Bill

[The bipartisan spending plan was approved by Congress and signed into law by the President on December 29, 2022. Read CCF’s brief to learn more.] As my colleagues on Say Ahhh! have highlighted the omnibus appropriations bill released earlier today includes a number of provisions related to Medicaid and CHIP such as funding for Puerto […]

Anne Dwyer

December 20, 2022

Federal Focus on Behavioral Health Crisis Care

You may be thinking that we’ve been writing a lot about behavioral health on Say Ahhh! lately. Well, you’re right – and there’s more! For starters, last week, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released new National Guidelines for Child and Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Care, complementing other recent resources such as […]

Anne Dwyer, Natalie Lawson November 18, 2022

HHS Announces New Planning Grants for Medicaid-Funded Behavioral Health Clinic Demonstration

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it will be awarding up to $15 million in new planning grants to states as part of its national expansion of the Medicaid-funded Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration program under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The announcement comes on the heels of […]

Anne Dwyer

October 28, 2022

Proposed Rule Provides Opportunity to Advance Behavioral Health Quality

As my colleague, Maggie Clark, wrote about on Say Ahhh! earlier this week – we can’t improve what we don’t measure. This is why CMS’s recently proposed rule on reporting of quality measures in Medicaid and CHIP is critical to advancing behavioral health care quality. The proposed rule, open for comment through October 21, requires […]

Anne Dwyer

October 14, 2022

CMS Approves First State for New ARPA Medicaid Mobile Crisis Services Option, Additional States Express Interest

This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced approval of Oregon’s plan to cover community-based mobile crisis intervention services for individuals experiencing mental health or substance use crises under a new Medicaid state option. As we’ve previously highlighted on Say Ahhh!, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), passed in March 2021, included a […]

Anne Dwyer

September 13, 2022