December 21, 2022

We just sent the following draft sign on letter to our colleague associations, seeking their support on a letter to Governor Hochul requesting that NYS vastly expand the CCBHC federal demo, fyi.

Related note:  We have talking points coming your way tomorrow morning that will help you distill the Demo Expansion Financial Analysis we sent you late last week and again this morning.  The Talking Points should help you make the case for expansion when discussing with elected leaders.

———- Forwarded message ———

Good afternoon,

As you may know, earlier this fall CMS indicated to states around the country that it would permit CCBHC federal demonstration states to expand the number of CCBHC demo agencies in their state.  As far as we know, there are no limits on states with regards to the size of the expansion.   The minute we learned that this was the case, we began meeting with NYS leaders, advocating for them to take advantage of this unique opportunity to improve care for New Yorkers with mental health and substance use disorders, while firming up provider sustainability and saving scare resources.

The attached documents include a recently completed Financial Analysis we commissioned from HMA that looks at the numbers associated with expansion of the federal demo in New York.  This is not a White Paper but instead an analysis we felt we needed to address any concerns the state might have about the cost of expansion.  As you will see, the results found that the bigger the expansion the greater the savings for the state.

The NYS Council has been working for months to press state leaders into action and we know there are serious conversations happening regarding expansion of the federal CCBHC demo.  Last month we submitted proposed language to the executive that would require NYS to make any eligible provider a federal demo clinic.

Please help us to compel state leaders to make the right decision.  To demonstrate your support, I have prepared a sign on letter that I would like to send to the Administration on Friday.  I know this is a challenging turnaround timeframe – especially during the holidays, but we would greatly appreciate your support.  If you think you want to sign on but can’t make it by Friday I will wait until Monday, if that helps.  If you sign on, I will happily share our Talking Points document with you.

Many thanks for considering this important request.
Lauri