BACKGROUND: You may remember that the public mental health system in Michigan has been a public, county based since its inception, with both the public community mental health centers and private providers, in the networks of those CMHs, providing services. Since 1997, the public system has also operated the public health plan (managed care organizations) that take risk based contracts with the state to manage the state's Medicaid behavioral health benefit (services to 4 populations - adults with mental illness, children and adolescents with emotional disturbance, persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and persons with substance use disorders).
Over the past several years, the public system, in partnership with clients/persons served, the advocacy community, and our allies have been successful in thwarting the threat of the management of the Medicaid behavioral health benefit being taken over by private health plans.
These successful political battles have been greatly aided by drawing on the experiences of other states who have moved to the management of your state's Medicaid behavioral health benefit to private health plans/managed care organizations.
REQUEST: If you would be willing to share your views and/or data relative to the impact of the movement of your state's Medicaid behavioral health benefit to private health plans/managed care organizations, please let me know of that willingness. We will then reach out to you for a discussion on your state's experiences.
Thank you.
Robert Sheehan
Chief Executive Officer
Community Mental Health Association of Michigan
426 South Walnut Street, Lansing MI 48933
517.374.6848 main
517.237.3142 direct
517.374.1053 fax
cmham.org
