Across state agencies, people speak different languages. It can be a hindrance to cross-sectoral collaboration between Medicaid and offices of behavioral health, says Lindsey Browning, program director at the National Association of Medicaid Directors. “There’s sometimes a hesitancy, on both sides, to step into each other’s world and get the
With 988 going “live” on July 16, there's been much discussion on capacity and funding. Behavioral health leaders have pointed out that supporting a robust crisis system will take a braided approach, including federal grants and sustainability through state telecom fees, Medicaid, Medicare, and private commercial insurers. However, while 988
Matthew L. Goldman, M.D., M.S., medical director of Comprehensive Crisis Services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, says communities need to buckle down now to ensure that 988, the three-digit number the FCC designated to mirror 911 for mental health and suicide crises, fulfills its potential when it
It started with an open letter in 2015 from Sheree Lowe, vice-president of behavioral health for the California Hospital Association: “California, like the nation, is struggling to ensure individuals with a suspected/potential mental illness are able to receive a timely psychiatric evaluation and access to an appropriate level of treatment, if
Elinore F. McCance-Katz, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use at SAMHSA, says that the report “finally offers our communities true National Guidelines for Crisis Care within a user-friendly Best Practice Toolkit.”
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