Iowa Medicaid plants seed money to enhance behavioral health services
Iowa Medicaid plants seed money to enhance behavioral health services
Prevention services and care for those with both mental health and substance abuse problems are popular among recent "community reinvestment" grant proposals in Iowa’s recently restructured Medicaid behavioral health program.
The Iowa Plan will grant up to $600,000 to expand mental health and substance abuse services to the state’s 180,000 Medicaid behavioral health enrollees. The funding comes from a mandatory 2.5% set-aside in the state’s contract with its behavioral health vendor, Merit Behavioral Care of Iowa.
The $600,000 reflects contract revenues since the plan’s inception Jan. 1, 1999, through June 30. Any unspent funds, as well as any savings in the behavioral health program as a whole, will be directed back into the community reinvestment program. The community reinvestment program continues a voluntary initiative undertaken by Merit when it served as Iowa’s mental health managed care contractor.
The projects, like those during two years of community reinvestment grants under the previous mental health managed care program, will be funded upfront. The approach frees providers from scrounging enough money to set up a program and worrying about utilization under a capitated program.
But the grants are only for one year. The Iowa Plan is seeking projects that have the greatest opportunity for longevity and ongoing fee-for-service reimbursement.
"I believe in Iowa we will see an evolution of how we target community reinvestment," says Joan Discher, chief operating officer in Merit’s West Des Moines office. She anticipates that the program will, for example, seek out projects that incorporate the use of best practices for clearly identifiable demographic groups. In addition, she would like to see more projects that require substance abuse and mental health providers to collaborate on how to serve their mutual clients.
"That’s going to take a different approach than just sending out an Request for Proposals for community reinvestment. It will take going out and working with providers."
A panel is reviewing the 45 proposals received in early July and hopes to select grantees in time for implementation of the projects by this fall, Ms. Discher said.
Contact Ms. Discher at (515) 222-5005.
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