Alabama Medicaid Draft Section 1115 Waiver Institutions For Mental Disease Waiver For Serious Mental Illness Demonstration

On March 25, 2021, the Alabama Medicaid Agency released this draft section 1115 demonstration waiver to seek public comment on its plan to use Medicaid funds for short-term psychiatric treatment for adults with serious mental illness (SMI) or serious emotional disturbance (SED) provided by an Institution for Mental Disease (IMD). Normally, the federal Medicaid program prohibits reimbursement for adult (ages 21 to 64) inpatient or residential psychiatric treatment provided in an IMD, which is defined as any inpatient or residential facility with more than 16 beds and a primary purpose of serving people with behavioral health disorders. The state . . .