Now on Demand—Leveraging Medicaid to Support Children and Youth Living With Complex Behavioral Health Needs

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the serious and growing mental health and substance use disorder crisis gripping children and youth in the United States. The situation is particularly serious for young people who are stuck “boarding” in emergency departments for days or weeks, cycling in and out of psychiatric hospitals, contemplating and sometimes attempting or completing suicide, and struggling to remain in school or to find and keep a job.

In a recent webinar, Manatt Health led an interactive panel of innovators driving change that focused on ways to respond effectively to the crisis. The session shared actionable strategies and concrete examples of states making progress on improving care for young people living with complex behavioral health conditions. Click here to view the free webinar on demand and download a free copy of the presentation.

Key questions the program answered include:

• What services and supports do young people living with complex behavioral health conditions need? Are states covering the “right things” that will make a difference according to young people, families and clinicians?
• How can states ensure that families and young people are partners in the policymaking process and in driving care and treatment decisions?
• What are the most effective ways to respond to the emergency department boarding crisis?
• How can states move “upstream” to focus on prevention and early intervention?
• What is the role of Medicaid and CHIP in responding to the crisis? How can they most effectively be leveraged?

If you have any questions or issues you’d like to discuss after viewing the webinar, please reach out to Jocelyn Guyer at jguyer@manatt.com.

P.S. Click here to download a free copy of our recent report, prepared for The Commonwealth Fund, Leveraging Medicaid to Support Children and Youth Living With Complex Behavioral Health Needs.