Key Themes in Medicaid Section 1115 Behavioral Health Waivers

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Key Themes in Medicaid Section 1115 Behavioral Health Waivers Twenty-two states have an approved or pending Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver that involves one or more behavioral health initiatives. In their waiver submissions to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, states describe behavioral health as including mental health and substance use disorders. A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines recent waiver activity and highlights issues to watch in four key areas:  Using Medicaid funds to pay for substance use disorders or mental health services in “institutions of mental disease”; Expanding community-based behavioral health benefits; Expanding Medicaid eligibility to cover additional people with behavioral health needs; Financing delivery system reforms. Such waivers reflect Medicaid’s role in financing behavioral health coverage and can help the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and states identify best practices, particularly related to state efforts to address the opioid epidemic. Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues, the Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Menlo Park, California.