Behavioral Health System Reform

Massachusetts' first-ever Behavioral Health Help Line connects people to a full range of treatment services for mental health and substance use offered in the Commonwealth. The Help Line is accessible 24/7 by phone, text, or chat.

Help Line connects Massachusetts residents, regardless of insurance coverage, to mental health and substance use treatment services, including outpatient, urgent care, and immediate crisis care. The Help Line will work in conjunction with other components of the Roadmap, including providing warm handoffs to CBHCs.

Learn the answers to frequently asked questions about the Help Line.

Read our blog to learn more about the Behavioral Health Help Line.

In communities across the state, a network of Community Behavioral Health Centers (CBHCs) serve as an entryway to timely, high-quality, and accessible mental health and substance use treatment.

CBHCs will provide early intervention, urgent care, routine treatment, recovery support, and crisis services (including mobile crisis intervention and community crisis stabilization).

Learn more about CBHCs here.

Across the Commonwealth, certified Behavioral Health Urgent Care Centers provide individuals a place to go for non-life-threatening mental health and substance use needs. Urgent care centers for behavioral health issues function like urgent care centers where people go for non-life-threatening physical injuries and illnesses that need prompt attention.

Behavioral health urgent care centers provide increased access to treatment. They offer same day or next business day of operations appointments, evening and weekend hours, the ability to schedule follow-up behavioral health treatment appointments within 14 calendar days, and more.

Read our blog to learn more about how MAMH is supporting implementation of a behavioral health urgent care model in schools across Massachusetts.

Read our fact sheet to learn more about behavioral health urgent care centers.

MAMH President and CEO Danna Mauch serves on the state’s Behavioral Health Advisory Commission which identifies, assesses, and provides recommendations to address barriers to the delivery of equitable, culturally-competent, affordable, and clinically-appropriate continuum of behavioral health care and services across the Commonwealth. The Advisory Commission also makes recommendations on how dollars from the Behavioral Health Trust Fund will be allocated.

Established under Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022.

View a full list of Behavioral Health Advisory Commission members.

Read MAMH's recommendations to the Chairs of the Behavioral Health Advisory Commission on how to allocate the dollars to the Behavioral Health Trust Fund.

CMHC Comments on 130 CMR 448.000: Community Behavioral Health Center Services **MAMH is a member of the Executive Committee of the Children’s Mental Health Campaign (CMHC)**

The CMHC, with MAMH, submitted these comments to MassHealth on proposed regulations that would establish Community Behavioral Health Centers (CBHCs) as a new MassHealth provider type. The goal of these comments was to help ensure timely, high quality, and equitable access to CBHC services for children and adolescents.

MAMH Comments on 130 CMR 448.000 Community Behavioral Health Center Services (Related to Definitions and Services for Adults)

These comments complete the comments above that MAMH submitted to MassHealth as part of the Children's Mental Health Campaign (CMHC). These comments focus specifically on the concerns of adults in accessing timely, high quality, and equitable treatment and supports and CBHCs.

MAMH Comments on 130 CMR 429.000: Medical Assistance Program: Mental Health Center Services

MAMH submitted these comments to MassHealth on proposed changes to the programmatic requirements for designated Behavioral Health Urgent Care providers, and proposed services provided by mental health centers that are newly reimbursable.

Creates youth and adult emergency department (ED) boarding data portals and requires the presence of mental health professionals in EDs to address the longstanding problem of boarding in EDs, especially for youth, resulting in delayed and inconsistent treatment.

Requires insurance coverage for fundamental services, including annual mental health wellness examinations (much like annual physical examinations), community based acute treatment for youth, psychiatric collaborative care models, and behavioral health emergency services.

Promotes school-based behavioral health services, by creating a statewide program to implement behavioral health services and supports in school districts.

Provides a method for individuals held in MA jails and prisons who are at risk of self-injury and placed on mental health watch (where they are often confined to a cell alone and often without effective interventions) to petition for transfer to a therapeutic treatment unit outside the carceral facility.

MAMH President and CEO Danna Mauch serves on the state’s Special Commission to Study Medical Necessity Determinations for Behavioral Health. The commission studies and provides recommendations on the establishment of a common set of criteria for providers and payers to use in making medical necessity determinations for behavioral health treatment.

Established under Chapter 177, Section 75 of the Acts of 2022

The State 988 Commission provides recommendations for implementation and funding of a statewide 988 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis system, including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. MAMH will be represented on the State 988 Commission by Jenifer Honig, Co-Director of Public Policy and Government Relations.

Established under Chapter 177, Section 4 of the Acts of 2022

The Community Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention Commission, established in 2018, was originally tasked with working to promote positive mental, emotional, and behavioral health and early intervention for individuals with a mental health condition, and to prevent substance use conditions among Massachusetts residents. The Commission’s responsibilities were expanded in 2022 to include improving access to and participation in behavioral health screening and treatment by veterans, police, firefighters, and public safety personnel. MAMH President and CEO Danna Mauch and Co-Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, Jessica Larochelle, are current members of the Commission.

Originally established under Chapter 208, Section 1 of the Acts of 2018

Expanded under Chapter 177, Section 1 and 4 of the Acts of 2022

MAMH, HCFA, and HLA Comments Regarding Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022: Annual Mental Health Wellness Exams

These comments include responses to questions the MA Division of Insurance (DOI) asked stakeholders so that they might develop further guidance on the requirement for insurance carriers to cover an annual mental wellness exam.

CMHC Comments Regarding Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022: Community-Based Treatment Services (CBATs) **MAMH is a member of the Executive Committee of the Children’s Mental Health Campaign (CMHC)**

The CMHC, with MAMH, submitted these comments to the MA DOI to help clarify a new mandate for payors to cover community-based acute treatment (CBAT), intensive community-based acute treatment (ICBAT), and inpatient mental health treatment.

MAMH and HCFA Comments Regarding Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022: Emergency Services Programs (ESPs)

These comments were sent to the MA DOI to provide feedback on what constitutes emergency services (including what programs and in what settings) and to advocate for timely access to comprehensive community-based services.

MAMH, HCFA, and HLA Comments Regarding Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022: Continued Coverage of Dependents Over Age 26 with Disabilities

These comments were sent to the MA DOI regarding the requirement for fully insured health insurance carriers to provide continued coverage of dependents over age 26 with disabilities.

Makes significant investments in behavioral health and primary care, especially for children and adolescents, expanding access and furthering a patient-focused, equitable delivery system.

Offers new initiatives to expand substance use condition services and diversionary behavioral health services, supporting the Massachusetts Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform.

Advances health equity by addressing health care quality and access disparities.

Provides additional funding to hospitals, which is critical to safety net hospitals that serve a high population of MassHealth patients.

Helping to support some of the most vulnerable, the new waiver provides 12 months of continuous eligibility for people released from a correctional institution and at least 24 months for MassHealth members experiencing homelessness.

MAMH Comments Regarding MassHealth 1115 Waiver Renewal: Community Support Program (CPS) Services

MAMH submitted these comments to encourage MassHealth to ensure that the Community Support Program (CPS) - Chronically Homeless Individuals (CHI) supports the unique needs of individuals with severe and disabling behavioral health conditions who are chronically unhoused through the promotion of trauma responsive and low-threshold housing models.