Contributors: Stephanie Anthony, Jessica Lyons and Sydney McClendon
North Carolina is transforming its behavioral health system by expanding Medicaid and access to care. This transformation builds upon the years of foundational efforts by the Cooper administration to invest in the behavioral health continuum and workforce and expand integrated physical and behavioral health coverage in Medicaid.
Over the past two years, the Department of Health and Human Servies (DHHS) has leveraged community partner relationships, conducted townhalls, and increased funding for evidence-based interventions. With support from Manatt Health, the state released their latest report earlier this month highlighting how DHHS is investing $835 million allocated by the North Carolina Legislature toward behavioral health transformation. The report highlights five key areas of investment:
- Increasing Medicaid rates for the first time in a decade. DHHS committed $385 million in recurring funding to increase Medicaid rates across the behavioral health and intellectual and development disabilities (I/DD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) service continuum.
- Investing in North Carolina’s behavioral health crisis system. Using new funding to ensure all North Carolinians have someone to contact, someone to respond, and a safe place for help when they or a loved one experience a behavioral health crisis.
- Investing in behavioral health supports for justice-involved individuals. Recognizing the overrepresentation of people with behavioral health, I/DD, or TBI conditions, DHHS is strengthening community-based treatment supports and investing in reentry services to prevent justice involvement and support community reintegration.
- Investing in behavioral health services for children and families. DHHS is addressing critical gaps in services for children with complex behavioral health needs and families involved in the child welfare system including expanding access to community-based services, improving care in residential settings, and building capacity to keep children in need of placement out of emergency departments and social services offices.
- Investing in the behavioral health workforce of the future: training, recruitment, and retention efforts. DHHS is building upon existing programs, such as provider loan repayments programs, while also placing greater focus on investments in the Peer Support Specialist and Direct Support Professional workforce.
Click here to read the full report.