The North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services (DMHDDSAS), the State Mental Health Authority and the Single State Agency for substance use, in collaboration with the Division Health Benefits (DHB), the State Medicaid Program, proposes to develop a plan to strengthen and sustain the 13 existing certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs) in the state. CCBHCs are specially-designated clinics that receive flexible funding to expand the scope of mental health and substance use services available in their community to ensure health equity and high-quality care for underserved populations, including children and youth with Serious Emotional Disturbances, adults with serious mental illness, individuals with long-term and serious substance use disorders and those with mental illness and substance use disorders. CCBHCs provide a wide array of integrated community- based services and provide serve everyone regardless of insurance status or diagnosis.
Over the course of the planning year, the proposed project will (1) certify community behavioral clinics using the Department of Health and Human Services criteria, (2) establish prospective payment systems for Medicaid reimbursable services, (3) enhance data collection and reporting capabilities of CCBHCs, and (4) develop an application for a four-year CCBHC Demonstration program. Building upon lessons learned by working with the existing eight Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHA)- funded and five state- funded CCBHCs, the state will certify clinics based on the required criteria (staffing, availability and access to services, care coordination, scope of services, quality and other reporting, and organizational authority) developed by SAMHSA in response to Section 223 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (HR 4302). Based on guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to states and clinics, the proposed project will develop, refine, and establish a prospective payment system to be used for the demonstration that will follow the planning year. The applicant agency intends to develop an application for a four-year demonstration program based on the results of planning efforts in the first year.
The applicant agency will involve consumers with mental health and substance use disorders and their families at all levels of activities for the proposed project, ensuring that their representation and meaningful input during the planning year.