Topeka – Governor Laura Kelly today announced that Kansas has been added to the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Medicaid Demonstration Program. CCBHCs increase access to crisis and behavioral health services in their communities.
“The CCBHC model is a vital resource to help Kansans overcome substance use disorders and improve their mental health.” Governor Laura Kelly said: “This announcement reinforces the efforts my administration is making to provide these critical services.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has announced the 10 new states after successfully developing the necessary state-level infrastructure and working with providers in each state to develop programs that meet the CCBHC standards.
“Today’s announcement by HHS allows Kansas to begin its efforts to modernize Kansas’ mental health system using the CCBHC model and build on the success we’ve seen over the past three years since we were named one of 15 states to participate in the initial planning phase.” KDADS Executive Director Laura Howard said:“The collaboration this model fosters represents an opportunity to further expand and improve access to comprehensive behavioral and mental health care.”
The CCBHC Demonstration Program will reimburse CCBHCs for the total cost of services provided through Medicaid at more competitive rates than community mental health centers have historically received for Medicaid recipients. This sustainable funding will enable CCBHCs to provide more comprehensive services rather than piecemeal services provided through separate billing codes.
CCBHCs must ensure access to comprehensive services, provide care coordination when needed, and incorporate evidence-based practices and other supports based on a community needs assessment, including crisis services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CCBHCs must meet federal standards for the scope of services they provide. CCBHCs provide a no-false-door approach, as they must serve everyone seeking treatment for a mental health or substance use condition, regardless of ability to pay, place of residence, or age.
In March 2023, Kansas received a $1 million, one-year federal planning grant from HHS SAMHSA to help transition Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) into CCBHCs that can treat mental health and substance abuse crises through integrated physical behavioral care.
In 2021, Governor Kelly signed the Senate alternative to House Bill 2208, which laid the groundwork to modernize the state’s mental health system to meet the unique needs of communities. With this bill, Kansas became the first state to pass legislation identifying the CCBHC model as a solution to the mental health and substance use crisis. Since then, KDADS has transitioned 26 CMHCs across the state to CCBHCs.
Funding for this opportunity was made available through the bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BCSA), which builds on $12.6 million awarded to Kansas in September 2022 to expand access to new and existing CCBHCs. The BSCA authorized HHS to add 10 new states to the CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program every two years. Kansas received a planning grant in 2022 to address the behavioral health crisis.
