MEDICAID BENEFITS PACKAGE RE-DESIGN

“The mission of the Mental Health Division is to promote recovery and safety.”

MEDICAID BENEFITS PACKAGE RE-DESIGN

The Washington State Mental Health Division (MHD) contracted with TriWest Group to make recommendations for re-designing its benefit package for publicly-funded managed behavioral health care, financial implications of those recommendations, and how best to phase in potential changes. TriWest Group is a consulting company with offices in Boulder, Colorado and Seattle, Washington and has helped several other states re-design their behavioral health benefits and managed care systems to better promote evidence-based and promising practices, as well as consumer and family-driven services. The first phase included compiling a detailed overview comparing Washington's current benefit design with national best practices and benefit designs from comparison states. This included:

A review of Washington's Medicaid State Plan and broader mental health benefit design;
A literature review of national best practices including evidence-based and other culturally relevant and promising practices;
An analysis of comparison states Medicaid benefit plans; and
Input and guidance from Washington stakeholders.

As part of the first phase of the project, TriWest Group submitted a preliminary report to MHD staff and leadership with initial recommendations.

The second phase of the project focused on refining the preliminary recommendations and developing a transition plan that takes into account the statewide system transformation initiative that is taking place. The transition plan addresses both the recommended benefits and the financial implications and includes:

Additional focus groups with a full range of stakeholders, including consumers of the mental health system and their parents, family members, providers, RSNs, Tribal representatives, and allied systems; and
Working closely with MHD staff and targeted stakeholders to make sure the emerging plan is both administratively and financially feasible and that it reflects the priorities of the department.

All project work will culminate in a final report that will include the final recommended benefits and financial implications along with cost projections. This report was delivered June 2007.

MEDICAID BENEFITS PACKAGE RE-DESIGN RESOURCE LINKS:
Name	Year	Type
Additional PowerPoint materials available: System Transformation Initiative table	2007	Table
Final Benefit Design Executive Summary	2008	pdf Viewer
Final Benefit Design Report	2008	pdf Viewer
Preliminary Mental Health Benefit Package Design Report (DRAFT) 4-16-07	2007	pdf Viewer
Medicaid Mental Health State Plan & B3 Service Modalities	2007	pdf Viewer
STI Forum Medicaid Benefits Notes (11-15-06)	2006	pdf Viewer

Contact Information:

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For more ways to get in touch with the Department of Mental Health Services, go to the DSHS Contact Information Web page. Mental Health Related Questions Contact:

“The mission of the Mental Health Division is to promote recovery and safety.”