Columbia river mental health services expansion into medicare and uninsured. - columbia river mental health services (crmhs), in partnership with NPC research, proposes to become a certified community…

Columbia river mental health services expansion into medicare and uninsured. - columbia river mental health services (crmhs), in partnership with NPC research, proposes to become a certified community behavioral health center (ccbhc) serving southwest washington, including clark county, skamania county, and cowlitz county. Crmhs targeted population are medicare enrollees and uninsured individuals seeking behavioral health services, such as individual and group therapy, case management, medication management, peer support, psychiatric services and substance use disorder treatment. In 2019, the uninsured rate in southwest washington was around 7% and there are 112,000 medicare enrollees. The identified service GAP is that nearly all behavioral health providers in southwest washington do not accept medicare enrollees or uninsured clients; however, this population is expected to have a growing need for mental health providers, as individuals struggle with anxiety, depression, and connection to primary care providers. Crmhs will become a ccbhc to serve all individuals in southwest washington, with a focus on reaching uninsured individuals and medicare enrollees. Crmhs will hire lcsws, case managers, psychiatrists, and nurses that have specialized training and focus on treating elderly and uninsured. The goal of the project will be to increase the local capacity of the health system to provide comprehensive mental health services to medicare and uninsured patients in the southwest washington region. NPC research will assist with performance measurement, data collection, and outcomes. Annually, crmhs will provide mental health assessments to 200 individuals and for the entire program will serve 400 individuals. Another goal is to reduce the social barriers (e.g., transportation) medicare and uninsured patients experience when accessing care by providing care case management to all patients receiving care at crmhs. Annually, crmhs will connect 170 people with case managers to increase connectivity for medicare enrollees and uninsured individuals. Throughout the program, 340 individuals will be connected to social services in southwest washington. Through evidenced based practice and communication with a client's primary care provider, clinicians, psychiatrists, case managers, and a medical team will assist clients in becoming healthier both physically and emotionally. By having these additional services in southwest washington, crmhs will reduce the rates of depression and anxiety in the medicare population, while connecting them to resources such as housing, food, and employment and provide services to individuals who may have to wait months to receive mental health services.