EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
OFFICE OF MEDICAID
ONE ASHBURTON PLACE, BOSTON, MA 02108
MAURA T. HEALEY KATHLEEN E. WALSH
GOVERNOR SECRETARY
KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL MIKE LEVINE
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY
FOR MASSHEALTH
June 18, 2024
Chair Michael J. Rodrigues Chair Aaron Michlewitz
Senate Committee on Ways and Means House Committee on Ways and Means
State House, Room 212 State House, Room 243
Boston, MA 02133 Boston, MA 02133
Chair John C. Velis Chair Adrian Madaro
Joint Committee on Mental Health, Joint Committee on Mental
Substance Use and Recovery Health, Substance Use and Recovery
State House, Room 513 State House, Room 134
Boston, MA 02133 Boston, MA 02133
Dear Chairs Rodrigues, Michlewitz, Velis, and Madaro,
Section 2WWWWW of Chapter 29 of the Massachusetts General Laws requires
the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to submit to the House
and Senate Committees on Ways and Means and the Joint Committee on Mental Health
and Substance Use and Recovery a report on the revenue and expenditure activity within
the Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund.
The Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention (BHACI) Trust Fund supports a
statewide, payor-agnostic community behavioral health crisis system including, but not
limited to, all necessary costs to support: (1) a behavioral health access line to connect
individuals to behavioral health services, including clinical assessment and triage (the
Behavioral Health Help Line); and (2) a statewide system to deliver behavioral health
crisis intervention services 24 hours per day and 7 days per week in mobile and
community-based settings, available to all residents without regard to insurance.
In FY2023, $34.4M in assessment revenue was deposited into the BHACI Trust Fund.
$3.95M was expended from the BHACI Trust Fund to support development and six
months’ operation of the Behavioral Health Help Line (BHHL) beginning in January
2023. An additional $17.1M was expended from general funds to support the costs of
implementing and operating BHHL.
$25.9M was budgeted from the BHACI Trust Fund to support the statewide, payor-
agnostic crisis intervention system. However, certain characteristics of the
implementation of the payor-agnostic crisis system resulted in delayed cash outflow in
the first year of implementation. Provider reimbursement for crisis intervention services
provided to uninsured, Medicare, and self-insured individuals is managed by
MassHealth’s behavioral health vendor, the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership
(MBHP). Additionally, MBHP managed reimbursement for commercially-insured
individuals before the publication of the Division of Insurance bulletin mandating
commercial coverage of crisis intervention services (in June 2023), and during the
interim period as providers updated their contracts with commercial insurers. Due to
contracting timelines, MBHP has not yet submitted any invoices to EOHHS for
reimbursement of these costs, which began in January 2023. EOHHS anticipates making
payments to MBHP in FY2024 that will include reimbursement for FY 2023 dates of
service.
Thank you for your continuing commitment to the MassHealth program. If you have any
questions about this report, please contact Sarah Nordberg at Sarah.Nordberg@mass.gov.
Sincerely,
Mike Levine
cc: Kathleen E. Walsh