Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Behavioral Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DPHHS presents behavioral‑health progress: naloxone distribution, 988 improvements and efforts to reduce out‑of‑state placements
Summary
DPHHS Division of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities told the House HHS Committee it distributed over 33,000 naloxone kits, improved 988 answer times (32s to 8s) and is funding in‑state capacity projects and provider rate increases aimed at reducing out‑of‑state placements for children.
Megan Peel, Division Administrator for the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Division at the Department of Public Health and Human Services, told the House Health and Human Services Committee the division’s 2025 budget is about $565 million, largely federal Medicaid and grant dollars.
Peel said the division distributed “over 33,000 naloxone kits across the state” in federal fiscal year 2024 and operates a standing order from the department medical director to expand access to opioid antagonists. She said naloxone distribution is handled through six regional hubs that partner with behavioral‑health providers and hospitals; Peel offered to provide a fact sheet naming distribution partners and procurement details.
On crisis response, Peel described Montana’s effort to build a three‑part crisis continuum—call (988), mobile response teams and receiving/stabilization centers—and said the state operates three 988 call centers plus a satellite center on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Calls rose from roughly 9,000 annually to over 12,000 in two years; average answer time decreased from 32 seconds to 8 seconds and about 80% of calls are “resolved on the phone,” meaning the caller and a trained responder discussed safety and, for that moment, no in‑person crisis response was required. Peel said unresolved calls may result in mobile crisis team dispatch or 911 involvement.
Peel described school‑based Screening Link to Care (funded with Governor’s Emergency Education Relief dollars), which screened nearly 17,000 students in the most recent school year; she reported approximately 1,130 students met the high‑risk threshold for suicide and that 100% of those students received same‑day mental‑health care.
On children’s residential placements, Peel said 254 youth received services in residential programs outside Montana in a recent period and that the division has been working to reduce that number by increasing in‑state capacity. The division described a “complex case qualified provider pool” and a residential‑grant program funded through the Behavioral Health System for Future Generation (legislative investment noted in the hearing). She said a 2023 provider rate study and legislative action raised reimbursement rates (average increases from about 15% up to nearly 30% in some programs) and that many providers have directed rate increases toward staff wages to address workforce shortages.
Peel also described an expansion of Medicaid coverage for ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine)‑level substance use treatment and a HEART initiative allowing incarcerated individuals to apply for Medicaid 30 days prior to release so they can receive case management, medication‑assisted treatment and discharge medication supplies.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about data limits (Peel said the department tracks Medicaid‑paid out‑of‑state placements but does not have a comprehensive count of parent‑paid placements), why youth go out of state (aggression or providers at capacity), and procurement and cost details for naloxone and 'wellness kiosk' vending machines; Peel offered to provide supplemental cost and partner information. The committee did not take formal action on policy during the presentation.
