Illinois Releases Plan For Medicaid Behavioral Health Transformation

On September 2, 2016, the Illinois Medicaid program released a draft 1115 waiver proposing a “behavioral health transformation.” The transformation would allow the Medicaid program to cover housing, employment services, and more intervention services for about 800,000 beneficiaries with mental health and addiction disorders. About 25% of the state’s 3.2 million Medicaid beneficiaries have mental health or addiction disorders or both. In state fiscal year 2015, this group of about 800,000 beneficiaries accounted for 56% of the state’s total $10.5 billion Medicaid spending. The state seeks to launch the five-year demonstration by July . . .