State sets $5 million to help primary care adopt collaborative care model

Dr. Carrie Brown, presenting for the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services, described North Carolina's multi-year effort to expand the collaborative care model so primary care practices can deliver evidence-based behavioral health care.

Brown said the state aligned billing codes across payers after Medicaid adopted a collaborative care reimbursement code, increased Medicaid reimbursement to 120% of Medicare to incentivize adoption, and developed technical assistance and a model contracting process for consulting psychiatrists. She said a patient registry—a requirement of the model—was funded and made available to participating practices.

To remove start-up barriers, Brown announced the North Carolina General Assembly provided $5,000,000 in one-time funding to support primary care clinics adopting the model. "We advocated with the North Carolina General Assembly and we're given $5,000,000 in one-time funding that is available now to invest in primary care providers adopting this model to cover their start up costs," she said.

Brown detailed per-site grant maximums: up to $50,000 for newly adopting primary care sites, $30,000 for existing practices expanding the model, and $20,000 for practices that adopt the model by outsourcing behavioral health staff to a vendor. She encouraged primary care practices to apply and asked patients to ask their primary care providers whether the practice has applied.

Brown said the state also created training and technical assistance through NC AHEC and identified consulting psychiatrists to support practices. She framed the initiative as a workforce and access strategy intended to broaden behavioral health treatment availability in primary care settings.