Related Resources
- CMCS Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Action Plan Overview
- CMCS Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Action Plan
- Accessing Enhanced Federal Medicaid Matching Rates for State Information Technology Expenditures to Improve Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Care Coordination
- Frequently Asked Questions on Medicaid and CHIP Coverage of Peer Support Services
- Webinar: Opportunities to Design Innovative Service Delivery Systems for Adults with Serious Mental Illness or Children with Serious Emotional Disturbance
- SOTA Presentation: Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration Policy to Address Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders
- SMD: Strategies to Address the Opioid Epidemic
- CIB: Maternal Depression Screening and Treatment: A Critical Role for Medicaid in the Care of Mothers and Children
- Fact Sheet: Substance Abuse Structured Assessment and Brief Intervention Services
- Coverage of Early Intervention Services for First Episode Psychosis
- Pathways for Covering Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services
- Clarifying Guidance on Peer Support Services Policy
- Section 223 Demonstration Program to Improve Community Mental Health Services
- State Plan Services
- Managed Care Waivers
- EPSDT
- Health Homes
- HCBS Waivers
- 1915(i) State Plan Services
- Community First Choice
Medicaid is the single largest payer for mental health services in the United States and is increasingly playing a larger role in the reimbursement of substance use disorder services. Individuals with a behavioral health disorder also utilize significant health care services—nearly 12 million visits made to U.S. hospital emergency departments in 2007 involved individuals with a mental disorder, substance abuse problem, or both. Congress enacted several laws designed to improve access to mental health and substance use disorder services under health insurance or benefit plans that provide medical/surgical benefits. The most recent law, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), impacts the millions of Medicaid beneficiaries participating in Managed Care Organizations, State alternative benefit plans (as described in Section 1937 of the Social Security Act) and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
This new and revised section of the Medicaid.gov website that provides information to States, managed care organizations, providers, beneficiaries and others regarding mental health and substance use disorder—referred to as behavioral health services. This site provides information regarding services and supports to meet the health, behavioral health and long term services and support needs of Medicaid individuals with mental health or substance use disorders. This website has been organized around several key areas that the Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) has identified as a priority for the next several years:
- Effective benefit design for mental health services for children, youth and their families
- Effective benefit design for substance use disorder services
- Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) application to Medicaid programs
Each of these areas will contain documents and other reference materials that may be helpful to States and managed care organizations as they consider their behavioral health benefit design and delivery systems. In addition, each area identifies the technical assistance resources regarding behavioral health that CMCS and our other federal partners will make available to States and CMS grantees.