National Council Unveils Success Center to Support CCBHCs

As part of its effort to expand the number of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics nationwide to 500 by 2025, the National Council has launched the CCBHC Success Center, an online resource with information, implementation support, and advocacy materials for the CCBHC model.

The website includes resources for:

• Current CCBHCs to share ideas, innovations and solutions, and strengthen existing activities
• Prospective CCBHCs to prepare for the program’s next round of expansion grants
• State policymakers and government officials, as well as state behavioral health associations, to implement and tailor the CCBHC model to meet their needs

The CCBHC model began with the passage of a 2014 law that created a two-year CCBHC Medicaid demonstration in eight states. The program has since been extended and expanded into an additional two states as part of the CARES Act earlier this year. The current extension of the CCBHC Medicaid demonstration is slated to expire Nov. 30.

Guide for integrating general health

National Council also recently published a guide for advancing the integration of general health in behavioral health settings. The document, produced in collaboration with Montefiore Care Management and the New York Community Trust, includes guidelines for doctors and policymakers to improve access to primary care for individuals with mental illness.

Noting that general health comorbidities rarely are detected or treated in behavioral health settings because of a lack of proper screening tools, staffing shortages, lack of training on general health condition management, and/or poorly established relationships behavioral health and primary care providers, “[t]here is a need for an organizing model that assists practices and policy-makers to prioritize the steps of integration implementation and the need for both technical assistance and funding for key program elements,” the authors of the report wrote.

The guide presents a framework to help clinics integrate general health services into behavioral health settings, with considerations for regulations, reimbursement, workforce development and other issues.