CalVoices urges stronger technical assistance and billing pathways for peer workforce

CalVoices, a consumer-operated peer organization, told the Commission for Behavioral Health on April 10 that California’s peer workforce and small community-based organizations risk being left behind as the state shifts services into managed care and the Behavioral Health Services Act.

The organization’s advocacy director, Claire Courtright, said CalVoices used an MHSA-funded grant to train clients and peers across the state and that its work revealed major gaps in billing readiness and organizational capacity. “Many peers are not Medi‑Cal certified and the brick-and-mortar programs that have been cash-financed outside Medi‑Cal are not set up for billing,” Courtright said, describing local wellness and recovery centers, drop-in programs and other consumer-run services that currently rely on non‑insurance funding.

CalVoices’ program manager, Nicole Chilton, and peer leader Angel Mercado described training, travel stipends and an annual conference that helped hundreds of peer workers and consumer leaders learn policy, regulatory changes and where to engage in local planning. They also said CalVoices drafted proposed regulations, pushed for a grandfathering clause to preserve MHSA‑funded housing during the transition to BHSA, and continues to pursue protections for peer-run services that are not easily medicalized.

Why it matters: Commissioners and members of the public asked detailed questions about credentialing, reimbursement and workforce development because the state plans to expand community supports and managed‑care benefits under CalAIM and the Behavioral Health Services Act. Commissioners noted that service continuity for people who currently receive MHSA‑funded supports hinges on whether small organizations can obtain billing capacity or other sustainable funding.

CalVoices recommended: (1) continued commission support for advocacy grants that build consumer leadership; (2) targeted technical assistance so small, consumer‑run organizations can pursue Medi‑Cal billing or sustainable subsidy; (3) work to integrate peer roles across the continuum while protecting non‑billable recovery spaces that are essential to many people in recovery.

Commission reaction: Commissioners praised CalVoices’ trainings and recommended staff consider a landscape paper on peer support, workforce pathways and sustainable financing. Several commissioners said they want the commission’s program committee to review ways to connect small community organizations to managed‑care partners and county systems.

The presentation was followed by public comment from consumers and local board members who urged stronger county engagement in community planning and better funding for peer roles. Several callers and in‑room commenters asked that accessibility, language services and disability accommodations be part of any technical‑assistance strategy.

Ending: CalVoices asked the commission to continue funding and policy support for peer and consumer‑operated services as the state implements BHSA and CalAIM-related changes; commissioners signaled they will pursue follow-up, including a potential program committee review and written landscape analysis.