‘It’s Those Kinds of Things That Keep Me up at Night’: CCBHCs Face Uncertain Future With Federal Cuts Looming

The certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC) program is under threat. A menacing line in a draft budget document from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department that leaked last week slates CCBHCs under “Other Eliminations” within a long list of other “AHA Mental Health Eliminations.” However, the document did not state what exactly the […]

CCBHCs on Chopping Block in Leaked White House Budget Docs

Leaked documents from the White House show that the Trump administration wants to do away with the certified community behavioral health centers (CCBHC) program entirely.  The White House is pushing to eliminate several mental health programs as it seeks also to create a new division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) […]

Biden Administration Adds 10 New States to CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program

The Biden administration has announced that it is expanding the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Medicaid demonstration program to 10 new states. The CCBHC Medicaid program offers community-based behavioral health intervention programs. Prior to the announcement, 8 states were in the CCBHC Medicaid demonstration program. People experiencing a mental health or substance use disorder […]

CCBHCs Could Become Permanent Part of Medicaid

Editor’s note: March 14, 2024 — The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 9, includes provisions to define certified community behavioral health centers (CCBHCs) within the Social Security Act. This makes CCBHCs a permanent part of Medicaid.  Proposed legislation in Congress could make certified community behavioral health […]

PE Wary of Serious Mental Illness Investment, But Venture Capital May Be Ready to Pounce

While private equity investors continue to look for new opportunities in behavioral health, there is one area that is still relatively uncharted: serious mental illness (SMI) care. Caring for the SMI population can be very challenging and requires a multipronged approach, as well as a robust patient engagement plan. Due to these challenges, SMI care […]

National Council Lays Out the Future of Measurement-Informed Care

The National Council for Mental Wellbeing seeks to redefine how providers and payers in behavioral health assess quality outcomes and are calling it measurement-informed care. In a webinar, the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit industry group called for the term measurement-informed care to replace the incumbent measurement-based care. Professionals with the council also presented their analysis of […]

Digital, Retail Mental Health Services Are Straining Community-Based Behavioral Health Providers

Behavioral health services offered by digital health and retail companies have attracted many patients with lower-acuity mental health needs. In turn, many community providers are seeing an influx of higher-acuity patients who need in-person services. This often means that community providers assign their clinicians a less balanced caseload, which some warn could lead to burnout. […]

There’s No ‘Quick Fix’ to Solving America’s Mental Health Crisis, Stakeholders Argue During Senate Hearing

Lawmakers are looking at ways to put community resources at the center of the mental health crisis. Wednesday, the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement held a hearing focused on closing the gaps in behavioral health care by bringing services and prevention into the community. Provider witnesses stressed the importance of care integration and […]

Inside Sheppard Pratt’s Decades-Long Value-Based Care Journey

Legacy nonprofit behavioral health provider Sheppard Pratt is a veteran of value-based care contracting. The Baltimore-based organization, which offers everything from inpatient services to special education schools, got into value-based care contracting roughly 25 years ago when the state of Maryland approached the provider. The state acknowledged that it struggled to care for a specific […]

How Value-Based Care Could Transform Serious Mental Illness Treatment

It’s no secret that patients with serious mental illnesses (SMIs) are costly to care for and have significantly worse outcomes than their peers. But value-based care models could enable providers to get creative in caring for these patients, leading to better outcomes and lower costs. Specifically, the value-focused model could allow providers to use wrap-around […]