Assessing Changes to Medicaid Managed Care Regulations: Facilitating Integration of Physical and Behavioral Health...

As states consider how to effectively control Medicaid costs, many are looking to integrate behavioral and medical care, including long-term services and supports, particularly for individuals with complex needs.

To summarize how recent federal regulations are encouraging an integrated approach to behavioral and physical health care.

Two recent federal rules issued in 2016 are facilitating the transition to integrated care models: the Medicaid managed care rule and the Medicaid managed care mental health parity rule. These changes may not spell the end of fragmented systems, but they certainly do not support a status quo approach to care. While the regulations do not specifically address integrated care, they should facilitate and, in some instances, encourage, state movement to integrated care for Medicaid participants.