4 Ky. community mental health centers join Medicaid program to blend mental health, behavioral health and medical services

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Four community health centers in Kentucky are in a two-year pilot program that lets them provide medical services for Kentuckians on Medicaid, not just behavioral and mental health care.

The Demonstration Program for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics will provide extra federal funding to providers for treating Medicaid patients. More than one in three Kentuckians are on Medicaid. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services picked only 10 states to participate in the initiative, designed to show the effectiveness of a service delivery and payment model that streamlines multiple types of care. 

The four centers, selected in what a state news release called a rigorous certification process, are NorthKey Community Care (859-331-3292) in Northern Kentucky; New Vista (800-928-8000) in Boyle, Fayette, Madison and Scott counties; Seven Counties Services (502-589-1100) in Louisville; and Pathways Inc. (606-324-114) in northeastern Kentucky.

“These sites will allow us to move beyond a system that often requires multiple providers and impedes communication and care coordination," Health Secretary Eric Friedlander said in the news release. "This is a huge step forward in building a recovery-oriented system of care in Kentucky.”

The approved clinics are expected to greatly expand outpatient primary care services as they work to integrate mental and physical health care for their patients. 

The clinics are available to anyone in need of care regardless of their ability to pay, including, but not limited to, people with serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, long-term chronic addiction, mild or moderate mental illness and substance use disorders, and complex health profiles, according to the health cabinet. 

Gov. Andy Beshear said, “Kentuckians grappling with multiple issues such as depression, anxiety and addiction need access to care. These clinics bring behavioral and physical health services under one roof and tailor services to the needs of the individual and improve health outcomes.”

Individuals may contact these clinics by phone or through their websites. Additional information may be found at samhsa.gov/section-223.