December 16, 2022

Since 2017, New York State has been participating in a federal demonstration of a new outpatient model of behavioral healthcare called Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). 15 clinics across the state have been reimbursed at cost by Medicaid in exchange for adhering to a rigorous set of 115 federally defined standards.

The 15 clinics have produced extraordinary outcomes, reducing ED and inpatient usage by 20-30% for the people they serve. In addition, by participating in the demonstration, New York has received increased federal Medicaid revenue for every CCBHC visit.

Last month, the NYS Council contracted with Health Management Associations (HMA) to conduct a financial analysis in which actuaries found that the state experienced a significant return on its modest investment in this model, which averaged $9.7 million per year.

The federal government is very supportive of states expanding CCBHCs, to bring a far better model of behavioral healthcare to scale and do it while reducing the state’s spending on Medicaid.  In fact, statewide expansion of the CCBHC Demo to include any provider that is able to meet the standards can and should be viewed as a cost savings initiative.  The bigger the expansion, the bigger the savings.  

Linked here please find the financial analysis performed by actuaries at HMA. Please note that last month, the NYS Council drafted and shared (with the Executive) proposed language for inclusion in the Governor’s executive budget proposal that would permit any eligible provider to become a CCBHC-D participant.  We will have Talking Points for all members next week.

We hope you are pleased with our advocacy efforts to date to compel state leaders to invest in a far better model of care for New Yorkers with mental health and/or substance use disorders, and co-morbid conditions.  It is clearly a win-win all around.