California Medicaid Section 1115 Behavioral Health Community-Based Organized Networks Of Equitable Care & Treatment (BH-CONNECT) Demonstration Approval

On December 16, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published this approval of the California section 1115 project, entitled “Behavioral Health Community-Based Organized Networks of Equitable Care and Treatment (BH-CONNECT)” section 1115(a) demonstration. With this approval, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is poised to implement a slate of Medi-Cal (the state’s Medicaid program) initiatives to strengthen the behavioral health system by incentivizing measurable outcomes and filling service gaps to create a more equitable and effective system of care . . .