If a pilot program introducing the country to a new model of mental health care works as expected, it will improve treatment and reach more of those experiencing mental health issues, particularly those with suicidal thoughts.
It’s a model that Hamilton Center has been using in Terre Haute since 2020.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently named Indiana as one of 10 states selected to participate in the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Medicaid Demonstration Program.
And and the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration named Hamilton Center one of eight Demonstration Pilot Sites serving 41 counties in the state.
Two years ago, Hamilton Center was rewarded a $3.75 million grant from the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic program. The new pilot program advances the CCBHC program without the traditional grant funding.
“It is groundbreaking,” said Art Fuller, Hamilton Center’s chief of the program.
“It’s allowing us to expand our services to reach more people throughout the regions that we serve.
“Originally … it was just focused on Terre Haute and Vigo County,” he added. “With this demonstration status, we can now expand the services to the other counties that we serve.” Hamilton Center also provides services to Vermillion, Parke, Putnam, Clay, Sullivan, Greene and Owen counties.
“What this is going to do is expand those 988 [suicide hotline] services to the other areas that we serve,” Fuller explained. CCBHCs offer Assertive Community Treatment teams to visit those who call 988, including 24/7 crisis response.
“The value of that is, it’s getting our community connected to the help they need faster … with someone who specializes in mental behavior health,” he said. “We also expect to collaborate with 911 in those surrounding counties.”
Michelle Holtkamp, the director of FSSA’s Office of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs, noted, “As for the population served, CCBHCs offer a no-wrong-door approach. The sites must serve anyone who requests care for mental health or substance use conditions, regardless of their ability to pay, place of residence, or age.”
Hamilton Center had a policy in place where it did not charge the uninsured before becoming a CCBHC, but Fuller said expanding the program will allow more people who are uninsured to take advantage of services.
According to national statistics provided by Fuller, one in every five individuals has a mental health issue every year that goes undiagnosed and untreated. He added that when one of these issues strikes someone at an unexpected time, the CCBHC offers a new system to provide immediate support for those individuals.
Holtkamp explained how the pilot program will be funded.
“The CCBHC demonstration sites are not receiving a set amount of money, like you typically see in a grant or contract arrangement,” she said. “Rather, the sites’ funding will be under a payment system that will be actualized following the start of the program in 2025.”
“It’s a paradigm shift,” Fuller said. “The significance of the award is putting in place a new infrastructure for funding new ways to deliver behavioral health.”
Fuller recently returned from Washington, D.C., where the National Council of Mental Wellbeing visited Capitol Hill for a day.
“We had a chance to meet with our elected senators and Congressmen,” he said. “The exciting thing about it is even at the national level, our leaders are saying, ‘This is an important issue.’ One of the leading legislations is co-sponsored by [District 8] Congressman [Larry] Buschon, the Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act.” It’s instrumental in expanding the CCBHC model of care.
“One wonderful thing about this announcement, it now makes it clear at the state level that the funding is there,” Fuller said. “So if the funding is there, how does that look staffing-wise?”
He answered his own question. “I would like to emphasize Hamilton Center is hiring — we are looking for all positions,” he said. “Click our jobs page [hamiltoncenter.org/employment/]. Go right now!”
Fuller observed that stigmas associated with mental health issues have dissipated significantly since the COVID pandemic.
“I think what COVID showed us is our mental health matters,” he said. “It brought it to us in a way that we couldn’t look the other way. Before, we may have been busy running around, but with COVID it was, ‘Oh, this is something I should really deal with.’”
Fuller added, “That realization reached our elected leaders who have said, ‘Yes, this is something to put at the forefront.’”
At the same time, he said, “The level of awareness related to need for mental behavior health has really just skyrocketed. [Being a Demonstration Pilot Site] is new in that it’s helping us meet that skyrocketing demand. It’s becoming more part of what we do.”
Holtkamp said the criteria for selecting the Demonstration Pilot Sites were:
• Availability and accessibility of services
• Care coordination
• Organizational authority and governance
• Scope of services
• Staffing
• Quality and other reporting
Holtkamp said 27 respondents submitted proposals and the sites with the eight highest scores were selected.
