There are several initiatives the MDHHS is working on impacting behavioral health in Michigan that impact some providers but not all. This patchwork of policy helps test what will work and what won’t, but at the expense of many providers in trying to implement it. With no news on a potential redesign, for many it just means business as usual. With little if no action from Lansing, the best thing to do now for providers is to develop relationships and plan for the year ahead. Pull Up Your Chair & Let’s Start the Conversation.
Michigan’s Patchwork to Piecing Together a Behavioral Health System
Michigan is running several behavioral health initiatives at once, and most of them are still early enough that no one, providers included, fully knows how they will be implemented. Some, like Conflict-Free Access and Planning and the Innovation in Behavioral Health Model (IBH), are federal mandates the state has limited room to opt out of. Others, like the Mental Health Framework, are state-driven and still being built.
Meanwhile a PIHP redesign remains a possibility and providers are starting to receive their contracts for FY 2027, which means providers are being asked to build toward systems that could shift again before they are fully in place.
Of everything in motion, CCBHCs are the one with real traction and a track record: Rather than asking providers to build separate infrastructure for four or five overlapping initiatives that may or may not survive contact with the next redesign, Michigan should treat CCBHC as the model to build toward and align the others to it wherever federal rules allow. That would give providers one direction to invest in instead of several and spare the system the cost of standing up programs that never get the chance to prove themselves.
ICYMI
CCBHC
Macomb County Mental Health Records 10% Jump in Crisis Calls, Expands Community Services, The number of people served through its Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic grew 20% since 2021. Peer Recovery Coaches worked with 2,167 ... 94.7 WCSX
Strategies for expanding CCBHCs in Northern Michigan, Common Ground
Oversight
Rural
Rural Health Plans Envision Larger Role for HIEs, Healthcare Innovation
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Crisis
911 Fails People in Mental Health Crises. Here's a Plan to Fix It.
911 calls related to mental health are the most likely to involve police use of force. A new book offers a blueprint for a 911 redesign that could save lives.
Call to Mind: The Fifth Branch: A collaboration with American Public Media’s Call to Mind highlighting how Durham, North Carolina, has reimagined its mental health crisis response system — and what it has learned.
How Durham, North Carolina, Got Police Onboard with Unarmed Crisis Response: One of the most respected alternative crisis response programs in the country, Durham sends unarmed mental health workers to 911 calls involving mental illness and addiction.
Mental Health Courts Offer People Facing Prison an Imperfect Alternative: Hundreds of U.S. courts offer treatment over prison for some defendants with mental illness. But critics say mental health courts have outpaced research on their effectiveness.
AI
The Biggest AI Opportunity Is in Your Back Office. For most behavioral health organizations, one of the biggest AI opportunities is around reducing administrative burden, strengthening financial performance, improving compliance, streamlining patient communication, and giving staff back time so they can focus on what truly matters: taking care of their clients and themselves. Read our new blog post to learn more.
Creating an AI Policy Framework for Your Organization. AI is rapidly transforming operations across all industries, including community behavioral health. This new resource guides mental health and substance use care organizations through the development of a customized AI policy framework.
Oakland County passes a budget with $500,000 for maternal child health care and increased support for mental health, Detroit News
Other News
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Events
If you are a nonprofit behavioral health provider in Michigan, and not a member of the MI Care Council, MI Behavioral Health & Wellness Collaborative, or the Michigan Association of Substance Addiction Providers, or just interested in collaboration, please contact [email protected], for more information on the value of membership. If you know of someone who might find this content, please share this link to the newsletter.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is intended for informational purposes only. Sources have been cited where applicable, and while some content may have been drafted with the assistance of AI, all material has been reviewed and edited by humans. We strive for accuracy, but if you believe something is incorrect or misrepresented, please reach out via direct message so we can review and correct the record if necessary.