By Jace DiCola, The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
The BHA aims to increase accessibility and quality through regional management entities
Colorado established the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) in 2022 to develop a cohesive and more effective system of mental health services across the state. Two years, some turmoil and two leaders later, its new Commissioner — Dannette Smith — said the Behavioral Health Administration is hitting its intended stride.
According to Smith, the BHA should yield an innovative structure for behavioral health in the state to increase accessibility and quality.
“Things are going to change because they have to,” Smith said. “Coloradans are expecting it — it’s that simple to me.”
Some of the administration’s initiatives include establishing a database to track different behavioral health programs and their effectiveness, re-working the complaint and grievance process and creating a statewide safety net for the mental health of high-acuity youth.
A primary BHA focus is establishing Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organizations (BHASOs), which will fund and oversee mental health services at a regional level.
BHA Deputy Commissioner Erin Wester said the BHASOs will operate similarly to the state’s four Medicaid Regional Accountability Entities that manage Medicaid/Medicare services and reimbursements for a specific area on behalf of the State.
According to Wester, the BHASOs would empower communities to identify and fill gaps in local behavioral health at a much more detailed level than an administrator from the another part of the state could. She said the BHASOs will have the financial flexibility to establish or fund services that meet unique, local needs without having to justify their applicability statewide.
According to Smith, the approach should also lead to better connections between existing services and communities, as the BHASOs will know what modes of outreach work best in their region, and they can work more intimately with local providers.
“When I think about core services and behavioral health, many of those services are already here in Colorado, but the general public doesn’t know where to access them and how to use them,” Smith said. “(The Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organizations are) going to be our north star and engine in terms of how we begin to look at delivering behavioral health services.”
Smith said the BHASOs would coordinate services and providers so Coloradans can access care across the continuum. “I want to have the hospital systems tied to the (Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organizations),” Smith said. “When somebody is escalating, I want them to be able to be in a hospital if that’s the mode of treatment, but I also want us — intentionally, through a treatment model — to be able to step that person down … and be able to support that person as they reintegrate back into the community.”
The BHASO regions are identical to the Medicaid Regional Accountability Entities territories, which a BHA press release said is intended to reduce administrative burdens for providers and confusion among residents seeking care.
Mesa County falls into Region One, which comprises all of the Western Slope and most of southern Colorado — extending as far east as Las Animas and Pueblo Counties.
The tentative BHASO operators were announced Oct. 2, with Rocky Mountain Health Plans selected to manage Region One. Rocky Mountain Health Plans is also the region’s Medicaid accountability entity and a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare.
According to a press release from the BHA, the announcement is a Notice of Intent to Award, so a two-week protest period that ended Oct. 15 could change the awardees. Rocky Mountain Health Plans officials declined to comment until the decision is final.
Signal Behavioral Health Network was awarded Regions Two, Three and Four. Signal is a nonprofit organization based in Englewood that began substance use management expansion more than 20 years ago.
“These two organizations demonstrated deep roots and strong relationships in the communities that they will be responsible for serving, and articulated thoughtful strategies for addressing the geographically unique challenges that the (Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organization) networks will confront,” Smith said in a statement.
According to Wester, the BHASOs will not be officially contracted until January, at which point they will have until the start of July to contract with local providers and begin their management efforts.
