More Than 80% Of California Medicaid Managed Care Plans Met Appointment Timeliness Standards For Mental Health Services

During 2019, California’s 55 Medicaid managed care plans (MCPs) met the state’s timeliness standards for mental health services for 87% of non-urgent appointments and 81% of urgent appointments. Timeliness compliance for non-urgent mental health appointments ranged from 44% to 100%. For urgent mental health appointments, timeliness compliance ranged from 50% to 100%.

The standard for an adult or pediatric mental health appointment with a non-physician is 10 business days for a non-urgent appointment and 96 hours for an urgent appointment. For an adult or child appointment with a psychiatrist, the standard is 15 business . . .