California Budget Proposal Targets Community-Based Mobile Crisis Services for Cuts
California's administration has proposed eliminating funding for community-based mobile crisis response services, which provide 24/7 in-person behavioral health crisis intervention in homes, schools, and community settings. These services, staffed by specially trained crisis response teams, offer critical de-escalation support during behavioral health emergencies. The National Health Law Program argues the cuts will not generate claimed savings and will harm vulnerable populations. Medicaid managed care organizations that contract to provide behavioral health services or coordinate crisis response should monitor this proposal's impact on network adequacy and member access to crisis stabilization alternatives to emergency departments.
Mobile crisis services reduce costly emergency department utilization and psychiatric hospitalizations — cutting these services may increase MCO medical costs while degrading compliance with behavioral health access standards.
Behavioral Health · Managed Care
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