The Behavioral Health Technical Advisory Committee (BHTAC) consists of seven members appointed by the following:
The members of the TAC serve until their successors are appointed by the organizations they represent. Anyone interested in serving on this TAC should contact one of the organizations represented.
If you would like to receive information about the BHTAC meeting, please email kyadvocacy@gmail.com to make that request.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TAC REPORT TO THE MAC – JANUARY 25, 2024
The Behavioral Health TAC met via Zoom on January 11, 2024. All seven voting members were present, constituting a quorum. Also in attendance were Commissioner Lee and other representatives from DMS and Commissioner Marks and other representative from DBHDID. All six MCO’s were represented, as well as a number of members of the behavioral health community.
SMI 1915(i) SPA (Waiver): Pam Smith reported that Town Hall meetings to explain the new SPA and to receive input were held in December at various locations across Kentucky. There were five meetings, with two of them also being offered remotely. DMS is in the process of reviewing the feedback, as well as updating their FAQ document. They are hoping to release the updated SPA application and begin the 30-day comment period on January 29th. Submission of the final version of the SPA to CMS will likely occur in March. Several attendees at the meeting had specific questions about the SPA which Pam and Leslie Hoffman responded to.
Reentry Waiver (formerly the SUD Incarceration Waiver): Angela Sparrow provided an update on this waiver which has completed the 30-day public comment period and the comments received have been responded to. No significant changes have been made to the waiver in the hope that DMS can get an earlier approval from CMS. Expansion to other populations and sites will be undertaken once the waiver is approved and implementation is underway. An Advisory Work Group has been appointed and will begin meeting soon to discuss implementation. Angela also noted that the 1115 SMI and 1115 SUD Waivers were submitted to DMS on Dec. 30, 2023.
Regarding the plan by DMS to create a Behavior Health Associate (BHA) and to define their scope of practice, DMS has sent certified letters to each of the mental health licensure boards asking for their feedback on the proposal in terms of how it would impact (or not) their licensure laws and regulation. Since the deadline for receipt of these responses was to occur after our meeting, this agenda item was not discussed further and will be on our March agenda.
With regard to the dashboard to record “No Shows”, Justin Dearinger with DMS reported that he had requested a data report on what types of provider were posting data, but he had not received the requested information. He hopes to be able to share a report at our March meeting.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TAC REPORT TO THE MAC – NOVEMBER 30, 2023
The Behavioral Health TAC met via Zoom on November 15, 2023. Five of seven voting members were present, constituting a quorum. Also in attendance were representatives from DMS and from DBHDID. All six MCO’s were represented, as well as a number of members of the behavioral health community.
SMI 1915(i) SPA (Waiver): Pam Smith reviewed the five meeting dates and cities where the SPA will be presented in-person to those present who will be able to ask questions and make comments. Two of the locations will also be accessible via MS Teams for those who are unable to attend in-person. A brief PPT was presented which gave information about the housing and related services options that will be available in the SPA for the individuals who meet the criteria. Ms. Smith pointed out that there will not be a cap on participants as is seen in the 1915(c) waivers, but only those individual who meet the requirement assessment criteria will be able to access the services. Exact locations for the meetings will be distributed in the near future.
Reentry Waiver (formerly the SUD Incarceration Waiver): Ann Hollen provided an update on this waiver which has now been opened for a 30-day public comment period. The stakeholder interviews have been completed and she noted that this waiver covers Behavioral Health (including mental health) and focuses on Social Determinants of Health for incarcerated individuals within 60 days of discharge into the community. Two remote information sessions are scheduled in late November and early Decembers to provide opportunities for interested persons who have questions about the waiver. The waiver will begin in the state’s 14 prisons and then will be extended to jails and to DJJ.
A new agenda item focused on DMS plans to create a Behavior Health Associate (BHA) and to define their scope of practice, which would include providing psychotherapy services to Medicaid members. BHAs would have a Bachelor’s degree in a human service field and would be working toward their advanced degree in a behavioral health field. They would work only in outpatient settings in CMHCs, BHSO, MSGs and CCHBCs and would only be able to work with this credential for five years. There were a number of questions asked about supervision, rates for their services and how they would be credentialed (apparently by DMS). There were also questions raised about the stance of the various MH licensure boards and DMS was urged to reach out to them to ascertain that. Questions were also raised about the appropriateness of Bachelor’s-educated individuals providing psychotherapy with such limited education.
With regard to the dashboard to record “No Shows”, Justin Dearinger with DMS reported that a letter had been sent to provider that very morning with information about accessing and using the dashboard, and encouraging all providers to record this important date.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TAC REPORT TO THE MAC – SEPTEMBER 28, 2023
The Behavioral Health TAC met via Zoom on September 14, 2023. All seven voting members were present, constituting a quorum. Also in attendance were representatives from DMS and from DBHDID. All six MCO’s were represented, as well as a number of members of the behavioral health community.
SMI 1915(i) SPA (Waiver): Leslie Hoffmann and Pam Smith from DMS stated that DMS staff will host a webinar on 9/25/23 to give information about the 1915(i) State Plan Amendment. When asked about the town hall meetings to be held across the state that had been announced at our July BH TAC meeting, Pam Smith stated that they will be sending out notices about the dates and locations and will give 30-days’ notice of those. When asked about a Public Comment period, she stated that in addition to the town hall meetings, there will be a 30-day public comment period on the SPA before it is submitted to CMS for their approval. Once again, BH TAC attendees expressed their great anticipation of seeing the services that will be provided for supported housing and supported employment for Kentuckians with SMI.
Reentry Waiver (formerly the SUD Incarceration Waiver): Angela Sparrow provided an update on this waiver which is being revised to meet new guidance from CMS. A question from an SUD provider about timeframes for reinstating an individual’s Medicaid coverage and restarting services is still outstanding. DMS is working with Myers & Stauffer on this waiver and they are currently conducting interviews with individuals and organizations dealing with reentry issues to gain insight into what is needed to make the transition from incarceration to community most supportive to the individual. Angela noted that this waiver covers Behavioral Health (including mental health) and focuses on Social Determinants of Health.
SMI 1115 Waiver Amendment: This waiver amendment has been submitted to CMS and we are awaiting any questions from them, following the close of the federal public comment period. This waiver has more hospital days for Kentuckians with SMI and a recuperative recovery program for a range of Medicaid members.
Request for Extension of the “Team Kentucky 1115 Waiver: This is still in CMS’s hands, with DMS waiting for further feedback from CMS. CMS has indicated that there will be a change in the date of the temporary extension to align it with the reentry waiver.
Justin Dearinger with DMS reported Good News that we have long awaited – the dashboard to report “No Shows” has been completed and is now available! However, because of security issues, it is not completely public, but open only to KY Health providers through a link on their DMS portal. He is hopeful that the security issues can be resolved at some point and that the dashboard will be more open to the public. [Will providers be notified that it is available?]
In another “Good News” development, Rosmond Dolen from KHA announced that the Single Point of Entry for Provider Credentialing went live at the end of August! It currently has participation from Aetna, Passport by Molina and Wellcare and they are hoping that others will also participate. A representative of United noted that they were trying to work through the complications of having multiple lines of insurance in the state before joining. Rosmond noted the importance of providers having their email addresses updated every 90 days to make sure that they were in communication with the CAQH Portal.