National Council Applauds CMS’s Efforts to Improve Integrated Care

WASHINGTON, DC (Jan. 18, 2024) – The National Council for Mental Wellbeing today released the following statement on the announcement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that it will launch the Innovation and Behavioral Health Model for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with behavioral health conditions.

“Integrating care for behavioral health with primary care is long overdue,” National Council for Mental Wellbeing President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia said. “We applaud CMS for its attention to this long-standing problem.

“The state-based Innovation and Behavioral Health Model will help Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries because it will provide resources to achieve whole-person health care. Not only does integration provide opportunities to improve health outcomes, it also allows communities to improve health equity.

“The Innovation and Behavioral Health Model is the culmination of nearly 20 years of National Council thought leadership and advocacy. We have remained focused on integrated care since we released our first paper on the issue in 2006. Training and technical assistance for integrated care is already available through the National Council. In addition, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) are an obvious vehicle to provide these services.

“The National Council and its members thank CMS for recognizing the need to integrate behavioral health care with primary care, and we look forward to working closely with CMS to ensure the success of the Innovation and Behavioral Health Model.”