Archive photo: A health worker, not identified as an ACCESS-NY participant. RDNE Stock project/Pexels (cropped)
New York will receive $10 million in federal funding to expand behavioral health services inside eight primary care practices, creating a new route to integrated care for patients with complex physical and mental health needs.
The ACCESS-NY initiative will add the Collaborative Care model at eight new federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics statewide, according to Governor Kathy Hochul’s October 27 announcement. The state Office of Mental Health will administer the program.
How the funding is structured
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provided $4 million up front to support the first two years. The announcement says the federal agency will provide another $2 million during each of the final three years, bringing the total to $10 million over five years.
The initiative is expected to serve roughly 1,750 people ages 6 and older with chronic physical conditions and co-occurring mental health or substance use challenges. It will focus on practices with disproportionately high numbers of patients with those complex needs.
The announcement does not name the eight practices or provide an application deadline for additional providers. It is a funding announcement for the initiative, not notice that every clinic or nursing home can apply for a share.
What changes inside a practice
Collaborative Care adds a psychiatric consultant and a behavioral health care manager to a primary care team. The state says the model supports evidence-based treatment and medication management in a setting where patients already receive physical health services.
ACCESS-NY will also develop links between primary care practices and community mental health centers. Planned support includes training to identify and manage common physical health conditions, technology that works with electronic health records and clinical decision support for care teams.
Workforce development is another part of the program. The announcement describes new online training and an examination of ways to involve New York’s credentialed mental health support specialists and registered nurses in required roles. It does not announce a change in professional licensing or scope-of-practice rules.
Why operators should watch
For health facility owners and administrators, the development concerns referral relationships, care coordination and the staffing needed to connect physical and behavioral health services. The state’s stated focus is on federally qualified health centers and rural clinics, rather than a new nursing-home reimbursement program.
New York first established support for the Collaborative Care model in 2012. More than 450 physical health practices statewide now receive support for that model, according to the announcement. ACCESS-NY is an expansion of that approach, not the creation of integrated care from scratch.
The remaining details to watch are the participating practices and implementation arrangements. The October 27 release does not establish that all eight locations have begun treating patients under the new funding.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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