The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation has invited interested parties to weigh in on the possibility of creating a new Medicare model program for behavioral health care delivery and payment.
According to a notice published in the Federal Register,
The Innovation Center is interested in designing a potential payment or service delivery model to improve health care quality and access, while lowering the cost of care for Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP beneficiaries with behavioral health conditions. The model may include participation by other payers, qualify as an Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM), improve health care provider participation in telehealth services, and address the needs of beneficiaries with deficits in care in the following potential areas leading to poor clinical outcomes or potentially avoidable expenditures: (1) Substance use disorders; (2) mental disorders in the presence of co-occurring conditions; (3) Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias; and/or (4) behavioral health workforce challenges.
The agency is hosting a public meeting at its headquarters in Baltimore in September to solicit ideas.
Learn more about the concept and the agency’s intentions in this Federal Register notice.