Oregon is adding mobile crisis intervention services, which connect people experiencing mental health or substance use crises with a behavioral health specialist, to its Medicaid services.
The state is the first in the nation to add this kind of program, according to a Sept. 12 release from CMS.
The option to add these services to state Medicaid programs became available in April, as part of the Biden Administration's initiatives to address mental health care, according to CMS. The agency encourages other states to add on similar services.
In 2021, 20 states received $15 million in American Rescue Plan funds to develop mobile crisis intervention programs.
CMS said programs like these can reduce burdens on law enforcement officers, who are often called to respond to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. These services can also reduce reliance on costly inpatient mental health treatments.
"With this approval, Oregon will be able to connect people to a qualified health professional as the first point of care for someone in crisis, which ensures they get the care they need when and where they need it," CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks LaSure said in the release.