CSU Pueblo — Colorado is reorganizing how behavioral-health dollars flow to local providers, presenters told the Agriculture Behavioral Health Working Group, describing a move from 17 legacy regions to four regional management organizations that will administer federal and state behavioral-health funding.

JC Carica, who led the group’s overview, said legislation created a Behavioral Health Administration and directed the state to set up regionally based administrative service organizations. "Part of the BHA deliverables per legislation was to create a statewide behavioral health grievance system, a performance monitoring system, develop this safety net system," Carica said. He added: "There’s gonna be money. It’s gonna be highly competitive."

The change is the result of recent legislation Carica cited as "House bill 22 12 78," which he said re-created the Behavioral Health Administration and set a July 1, 2024, starting point for parts of the new system. Under the new model, state and federal behavioral-health dollars will flow through the Behavioral Health Administration to the regional administrative organizations (commonly called BASOs or BASOs in the presentation) and then to provider networks the BASOs contract with. Carica said two lead organizations were selected to manage the four regions: Signal (a Colorado provider-owned organization) and Rocky Mountain Health Plans (which Carica said is affiliated with UnitedHealth in its corporate family).

Carica described how the BASO model differs from the prior approach: the state will specify the services it is buying and the BASOs will be responsible for building the provider network and paying providers. He urged attendees to engage the BASOs early as potential partners: "If you are looking at trying to expand or develop program ... these BOSOs are a good place for you to go and say, 'Hey, we have this idea.'"

Other presenters said the new structure also will affect Medicaid-managed services, which will flow through similarly designated regional entities. Carica noted the state is also evaluating federal models such as Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) and said that adopting such federal models could change how much federal Medicaid match Colorado could receive.

Why it matters: The shift centralizes oversight and places a new administrative layer between state funding sources and local providers. Presenters said that could mean new funding opportunities for rural and frontier communities but that success will depend on competitive proposals, coordinated partnerships and timely engagement with the BASOs.

The presentation included practical recommendations for providers and local organizations: engage BASOs in partnership (not only as applicants), emphasize collaboration among local stakeholders, and design proposals that match identified federal and state funding priorities for opioid treatment and medication-assisted therapy.

The working group asked for follow-up briefings and named BHA staff as potential future presenters who could answer detailed implementation questions. Several attendees asked how the new entities would address rural provider shortages; presenters said the legislation intends to push more resources toward rural areas but acknowledged there will be a transition period and uncertainty about how quickly rural capacity can expand.