SAMHSA Awards Montana with CCBHC Planning Grant

On Tuesday, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced that it awarded 14 states and Washington, D.C. with $1 million, one-year Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Medicaid Demonstration Program planning grants, with funding authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 to address the ongoing national mental health and substance use disorder crises.

The states selected are Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia as well as the District of Columbia. 

NAMI Montana is incredibly grateful for the State of Montana for moving in the direction of CCBHCs, submitting for the planning grant, and including significant funding for the model of funding behavioral health care in Governor Gianforte's budget. Thank you for SAMHSA for including Montana as part of the awards.

Adopting a functional financing model for Montana's mental health care centers has been a critical priority for NAMI Montana for years - including at the current and last two legislative sessions.  It is a long hard process, but it's wonderful to see everyone's efforts begin to come to fruition.

Italics is from the SAMSHA Press release, 

In 2026, up to 10 of these states will be selected to participate in the CCBHC Medicaid demonstration program and receive enhanced Medicaid reimbursement. The CCBHC planning phase assists states in developing their CCBHC certification processes, establish prospective payment systems for Medicaid-reimbursable services, and prepare an application to participate in a four-year demonstration program.

“The planning phase for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics is an important part of states’ efforts to develop sustainable funding to support their communities’ health with equitable access to quality behavioral health care,” said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA. “Congratulations to the selected states as they continue working for better health outcomes for all.”

CCBHCs are required to meet federal standards for the range of services they provide, and to get people into care quickly. They must see people in crisis immediately – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – and provide timely routine outpatient care. CCBHCs must ensure access to a comprehensive range of services, providing care coordination when needed and incorporating evidence-based practices and other supports based on a community needs assessment. CCBHCs are required to serve anyone who requests care for mental health or substance use, regardless of their ability to pay, place of residence, or age, including developmentally appropriate care for children and youth.

The CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program provides reimbursement through Medicaid for the full cost of services that CCBHCs provide, at higher, more competitive rates than community mental health centers previously received. This sustainable funding also ensures they can provide a more comprehensive range of services, rather than fragmented services driven by billing codes.

This is such an amazing step forward to healing Montana's fractured mental health system. We are so grateful to everyone involved!

Matt Kuntz

Executive Director

NAMI Montana