New York Health Equity Reform: A Transformative Shift in New York’s Medicaid Landscape

On January 9, 2024, New York’s Department of Health received its long-awaited amendment to our Medicaid 1115 demonstration, newly rebranded NYHER (NY Health Equity Reform). It’s not as flashy nor as generously funded as the special purpose DSRIP (Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment)...

Psychiatric Consultation: A Method to Expand the Workforce

I remember, almost to the day, when my psychiatric practice changed for the better by moving towards a psychiatric consultation model of care. Prior to this day, I was working as a medical director at a community mental health center where almost all my patients each were assigned to face-to-face...

Post-COVID Strategies to Achieve the Trauma-Informed Behavioral Health System We’ve Needed All Along

For decades, systemic racism has disproportionately routed Black and Brown children who have unmet behavioral health needs to congregate care and residential programs, and adults with these needs, to jails and prisons (Bronson & Berzofsky, 2017; National Conference of State Legislatures, 2021)....

Taking Care into the Streets to Reduce Harm and Save Lives: The Vital Role of Needle Exchange and Harm Reduction Services within the Healthcare Delivery System

Harm Reduction is rooted in acknowledging that a person who is an active drug user deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, including being offered safe access to clean syringes and naloxone. This work can be done while building trust and opening the door to recovery options. Harm reduction...

Two New York Behavioral Health IPAs Merge

Coordinated Behavioral Health Services (CBHS) and Comprehensive Care Network of the Hudson Valley (CCN), two Independent Practice Associations (IPAs) serving individuals in the lower Hudson River valley, are merging. Both organizations are recipients of state Value Based Payment (VBP) Readiness...

System Transformation: What Does the Future Hold?

We know that the mind and body are inseparable, so it’s no surprise that the evolution of behavioral health services will continue to be a story of convergence and consolidation, increasingly informed by science, financed by investments intentionally calibrated to drive progress, and guided by...

The Critical Solution for Homeless Older Adults: Tools for Aging in Place

Older adults over the age of 50 who are homeless are oftentimes an overlooked subpopulation. Nicknamed the “invisible population” by many including the Corporation for Supportive Housing (Healthy Aging in Supportive Housing, 2016), their needs differ from the general population of homeless...

Have Some CLAS: What Leading Organizations Are Doing to Address Population Health

Adherence with the National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) is a common expectation for healthcare organizations of all types. Many providers assume that their efforts are sufficient as long as they hire staff who reflect the racial, ethnic, cultural, and...

CCBHC as a Roadmap for Behavioral Health Leadership and Participation within Accountable Delivery Systems

Uncertainty about the future state of publicly-funded health care is widespread following the presidential election. However, the design of accountable delivery systems committed to comprehensive, cost effective care continues to have bipartisan support. Such systems demand a full array of health,...

Behavioral Health, the LGBTQ Community, and Managed Care

A wise man once said that at times of sweeping transformation, “all that is solid melts into air.” As the delivery system responds to changes driven by the transition to Medicaid managed care and, ultimately, value-based payment, many are concerned about meeting the needs of historically...