Governor Hochul has announced that more than $5.1 million was awarded to support 137 school-based mental health clinic satellites throughout New York State, including 82 at high-needs schools. Administered by the New York State Office of Mental Health, the funding is part of the governor’s $1 billion landmark plan to transform New York’s mental health care system, which includes a total of $8.3 million to support and expand these clinics throughout the state.

Office of Mental Health-licensed providers were awarded $25,000 per clinic to establish services at 137 schools throughout the state. An additional $20,000 per school was awarded to those providers establishing services at high-needs schools, where more than 50 percent of the students are classified as coming from economically disadvantaged households.

The award list is here:
 https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2023-11/School_Award_List.pdf

Governor Hochul has announced the creation of the New York State Commission on the Future of Health Care.  The Commission is a commitment made in her 2023 State of the State address. The Commission will work to build evidence-based and strategic recommendations for the state’s health care system to ensure it can best serve the needs of New Yorkers.

The Commission will provide ongoing strategic recommendations to transform the health care system in New York State, with a goal of ensuring that the limited resources of the State and other health care payers are optimized to enable the delivery of accessible, equitable, high-quality care for all New Yorkers, through a resilient health care ecosystem and a strong health care workforce. It will be tasked with identifying strategies to ensure the long-term resilience of New York’s health care system.

The focus will be on the full continuum of care, including physical and behavioral health, and recommendations will span policy, regulation, funding, and other strategies to drive long-term transformation within the health care system.  The Commission will meet every other month, with written summaries of the meetings made publicly available. The Commission will provide opportunities for public input, and work with a Stakeholder Advisory Board to ensure collaboration across the entire health care system.

OMH School-Based Mental Health Service Rate

Per the Enacted 2023-24 State Budget and effective July 1, 2023, the Ambulatory Patient Group (APG) Peer Group Base Rates for School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) Services in MHOTRS Programs will increase by 25 percent. In order to receive the enhancement, services must be billed using new rate codes 1030 (Non-Hospital) and 1033 (Hospital). These rate increases are subject to federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and NYS Division of the Budget approval. Additional details are available online here.

OASAS Rate Increases for Certified Treatment Providers

The New York State (NYS) Division of the Budget has approved Medicaid rate package(s) to establish new levels of reimbursement for the following Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) programs:

• OASAS Part 822 Outpatient Addiction Services, both freestanding and hospital; including Clinic, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs).
• OASAS Part 820 Residential Services: Stabilization, Rehabilitation, Reintegration.
• OASAS Part 818 Freestanding Inpatient Rehabilitation.
• OASAS Part 816 Freestanding Inpatient Withdrawal and Stabilization.
• OASAS Part 817 Residential Rehabilitation Services for Youth. 

Additional details are available online here.