CBHPC Systems and Medicaid Committee
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Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) are frequently exposed to multiple systems of care and regularly face challenges with accessing the services they need due to the complex structure of California’s public behavioral health system. The Systems & Medicaid Committee (SMC) advocates for system integration to ensure persons with SMI have access to client-family driven, responsive, timely, and culturally and linguistically appropriate services.
The initial focus of SMC is on California’s Medicaid Infrastructure, as the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Initiative provides a framework for the Medicaid Section 1915(b) and 1115 Waivers with the goal to identify and manage risk through whole person care approaches to care, address social determinants of health, reduce complexity and increase flexibility in the Medi-Cal system, and improve quality outcomes and drive delivery system transformation through value-based initiatives and payment reform. The Committee’s activities include exploring options for the future public behavioral health system, engaging with stakeholders, and influencing policy development for Medi-Cal. The major focus is on access, continuity of care, and outcomes for individuals with SMI and children with serious emotional disturbance (SED) as well as individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), while addressing all levels of care. The committee will also address integration and intersection of treatment with the following systems:
- Physical Health Care
- Child Welfare
- Juvenile Justice
- Criminal Justice
- Education
- Vocational Rehabilitation/Employment
- Developmental Disabilities
- Aging
More Information on our purpose, mandates, goals, and members
is contained in SMC Charter and SMC Work Plan 2022-2023.
Upcoming SMC Meetings
Quarterly Meeting
- Date: April 20, 2023
- Time: 8:30 am to 12:00 pm
Meeting agenda to be posted to less than 10 days prior to meeting date.
Please visit the Systems and Medicaid Committee Meetings Archive page for information on past meetings.
Letters of Recommendation
Committee Documents
- The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released a revision of the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Initiative in March 2021 as part of the state’s efforts to reform the public physical and behavioral health system in California for greater service integration, access, and quality of care. DHCS submitted the CalAIM Section 1115 demonstration application and CalAIM Section 1915(b) waiver application to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in July 2021. For additional details, visit the CalAIM 1115 Demonstration & 1915(b) Waiver webpage or the CMS website.
- The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) provided recommendations for an integrated Medi-Cal system by uniting physical health, mental health and substance use services in their 2019 report, "Behavioral Health Integration in Medi-Cal: A Blueprint for California."
- The Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC) provides recommendations to improve quality, access, and affordability of care in their 2017 report, "The Way Forward: Federal Action for a System That Works for All People Living With SMI and SED and Their Families and Caregivers."
- The California Health Care Foundation released an issue brief, "The Circle Expands: Understanding Medi-Cal Coverage of Mild-to-Moderate Mental Health Conditions," to provide an overview of California’s public mental health system in light of the changes brought by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other reforms, with particular focus on the implementation of expanded outpatient mental health benefits to treat mild-to-moderate mental health conditions.
Websites
- Please visit the DHCS Behavioral Health Stakeholder Advisory Committee (BH-SAC) webpage for upcoming meeting dates and information regarding the latest topics in behavioral health and meeting the needs of individuals with mental health and substance use disorders.
- The California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) Behavioral Health Taskforce webpage contains upcoming meeting dates and information regarding efforts to address urgent mental health and substance use disorder issues across California, as well as updates regarding the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative.
- The DHCS CalAIM webpage provides updates and resources regarding the CalAIM Initiative as well as the CalAIM Behavioral Health Workgroup.
- You may visit Behavioral Health Response and Rescue Project webpage to view and apply for grants to support a variety of state and county-administered behavioral health initiatives, including workforce development, telehealth expansion, mobile crisis and non-crisis, general crisis services, justice intervention, peer support, first episode psychosis, early intervention and prevention, and recovery support services.
- The DHCS COVID-19 Response Webpage provides guidance and information notices to providers, beneficiaries, and health plans regarding the COVID-19 public health emergency.
