HYDE-SMITH WELCOMES MISSISSIPPI PARTICIPATION IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DEMO PROGRAM
Magnolia State Joins CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program, Key to More Sustained Resources for Care
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today welcomed the addition of Mississippi into a Medicaid demonstration program linked to additional resources for the state’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) program.
Mississippi is among 10 new states included in the federal CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program, which provides states with sustainable behavioral health funding to expand access to comprehensive mental health and substance use disorder treatment and recovery support services.
“The Mississippi Department of Mental Health deserves credit for doing the legwork required to join this demonstration program, which has the potential to improve access to mental health and substance abuse treatment across the state,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over federal health programs. “I look forward to seeing how MDMH will put these resources to use to improve the lives of so many more Mississippians.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced Mississippi’s inclusion in the four-year demonstration program late last week.
“Every American deserves access to effective mental health and addiction treatment,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “By bringing 10 new states into the CCBHC Demonstration Program, we are expanding coordinated treatment services in communities across the country. This program strengthens behavioral health systems, advances President Trump’s Great American Recovery Initiative, and helps us Make America Healthy Again.”
Prior to the selection, Mississippi took part in a one-year planning phase during which clinics are certified as CCBHCs and in which prospective payment systems for Medicaid services are established. The demonstration program’s payment system helps ensure that CCBHCs can provide a comprehensive range of services that lower costs and meet national standards.
More than 500 CCBHCs operate today in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, a sustained expansion for a program launched in 2017 with 66 clinics in eight states. In addition to Mississippi, other states new to the demonstration program include Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia.
The comprehensive range of treatment and recovery services offered by CCBHCs also supports President Trump’s Great American Recovery Initiative related to tackling addiction by creating stronger coordination across government, the healthcare sector, faith communities, and the private sector.
###