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Biden-Harris Administration Awards $15 Million to
20 States for Mobile Crisis Intervention
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded
$15 million in planning grants to 20 states to support expanding
community-based mobile crisis intervention services for Medicaid
beneficiaries. By connecting people who are experiencing a mental health or
substance use disorder crisis to a behavioral health specialist or critical
treatment, these services—which will be provided by funding from the
American Rescue Plan (ARP)— and will be available 24 hours per day, every
day of the year, can help save lives. Importantly, these services can also
help to reduce the reliance on law enforcement when people are experiencing
a behavioral health crisis and, in turn, may help to prevent the
unnecessary incarceration of people with serious mental illness or
substance use disorders.
The planning grants—funded by the ARP—provide financial
resources for state Medicaid agencies to assess community needs and develop
programs to bring crisis intervention services directly to individuals who
are experiencing a substance use-related or mental health crisis outside a
hospital or facility setting. These grants will help states integrate
community-based mobile crisis intervention services into their Medicaid
programs, a critical component of establishing a sustainable and public
health-focused crisis support network.
“The pandemic has taken a serious toll on the mental health of
Americans, especially in underserved communities,” said Health and Human
Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Through these awards, the Biden-Harris
Administration is making a bold investment to highlight the importance of
behavioral health and ensure states can provide vital services to those
hardest hit by the pandemic. This funding from the American Rescue Plan
will expand access to crisis care for everyone—and reach people where they
are.”
“With
these grants, CMS is taking strides to connect individuals in crisis with
the high-quality, expert care they need. Providing behavioral health care
experts as alternatives to police is an example of how we can better help
communities deliver on the behavioral health needs of all its residents,”
said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.
The planning grants provide funding to develop, prepare for,
and implement qualifying community-based mobile crisis intervention
services under the Medicaid program. Grant funds can be used to support
states’ assessments of their current services; strengthen capacity and
information systems; ensure that services can be accessed 24 hours a day,
every day of the year; provide behavioral health care training for multi-disciplinary
teams; or seek technical assistance to develop State Plan Amendments
(SPAs), demonstration applications, and waiver program requests under the
Medicaid program.
On April 1, 2022, thanks to the ARP, all states will be
eligible for a temporarily enhanced matching rate for implementing a
qualified community-based mobile crisis intervention option in their
Medicaid programs.
The period of performance for this grant will be from September
30, 2021, through September 29, 2022.
To view the list of CMS Award Recipients, please visit: https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/behavioral-health-services/state-planning-grants-for-qualifying-community-based-mobile-crisis-intervention-services/index.html.
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