Trillium Health Resources updates Craven County on behavioral-health coverage, tailored plan rollout and foster-care transition

Victoria Jackson, regional vice president for the South Central Region of Trillium Health Resources, gave a brief annual update to the Craven County Board of Commissioners at their Aug. 18 regular session on Trillium’s coverage, local programs and the Medicaid tailored-plan rollout.

Jackson told commissioners Trillium covers 46 North Carolina counties and serves a combined population she described as about 3,100,000 across its service area. She summarized Trillium’s enrollment split for the period July–December 2024, saying the organization served “over 80,000 unique individuals with severe behavioral health needs,” and described the breakdown as roughly 63% mental-health, 17% substance-use and 20% intellectual/developmental-disability needs. Jackson said Trillium spent more than $802,000,000 on services in that six-month period.

Jackson reviewed the July 1, 2024 launch of the Medicaid tailored plan and said the consolidation and new plan increased call volumes and strained non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) coordination during the early weeks of implementation. She said Trillium has identified three lessons from the launch—expanded community communications, closer coordination with NEMT brokers and temporary provider flexibilities to reduce disruption—and that the organization has worked with the state and local providers to address those issues.

On foster-care coverage, Jackson told the board the state’s Division of Health Benefits awarded the statewide children-and-family specialty plan to Blue Cross Blue Shield (branded by Blue Cross as Healthy Blue Care Together). She said about 11% of the foster-care population Trillium currently serves is slated to move to that specialty plan and that Trillium has an internal transition team working with state officials to try to avoid interruptions in care during the transfer.

Local programs Jackson highlighted for Craven County included distribution of naloxone kits and test strips, substance-use prevention programs in schools, reentry simulations and a free recovery-support app called CHES Health that provides 24/7 peer support. She also described a technology program called Tula (Trillium Ultimate Living Assistant), which Trillium has awarded and that Jackson said uses enabling devices to support independent living tasks such as medication reminders and open-door alerts.

Jackson emphasized access options for residents: "There’s no wrong door," she said, noting Trillium contracts with more than 1,600 providers in and near North Carolina and operates a 24/7 crisis line and a member services line with daytime hours.

Commissioner Sherry Hunt asked whether Trillium or its leaders would attend the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners conference later that week; Jackson said multiple regional vice presidents and the chief executive would attend and that the CEO was scheduled to appear on a panel about the tailored plan.

Jackson concluded by offering to respond to follow-up questions and providing contact information included in the board packet.

Why it matters: The tailored-plan transition and the statewide foster-care specialty plan change how Medicaid behavioral-health services are managed and reimbursed. Commissioners and county staff said they are watching the foster-care transfer closely to limit service interruptions for high-acuity children.