In December 2011, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), serving as the state’s Medicaid authority, received approval for an 1115(a) Medicaid Demonstration Waiver. The 1115 Medicaid Waiver allowed for the expansion of the STAR and STAR+PLUS managed care programs and created two pools of funding to support health care in the state – an uncompensated care pool and a Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) pool. The DSRIP pool is intended to allow health care entities to implement new practices or programs to increase access to care, enhance the quality of care, or provide more cost-effective health care. The DSRIP component of the 1115 Demonstration Waiver introduces a quality-based payment system for health care providers and creates incentives for service provision in the most appropriate service setting.
In July 2013, the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health (TIEMH) at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, through a contract with the Meadows Foundation, began a review and analysis of the behavioral health proposals. The focus of the review is on Category 1 and 2 projects, as these represent the transformational changes to the service system, while Category 3 and 4 efforts represent the measurement of the outcomes resulting from the change projects. The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) provided support and consultation on the effort. The goals of the 1115 Medicaid Waiver behavioral health review were to:
- Identify variables that best describe key characteristics of the behavioral health DSRIP projects;
- Develop a descriptive database of behavioral health projects that can be used by state agencies and other stakeholders;
- Summarize the activities that are planned across the state, including commonalities across multiple projects and areas of innovation; and
- Provide recommendations for opportunities for collaboration, sharing, and evaluation.
Project Leads:
Molly Lopez, Ph.D.
Stacey Stevens-Manser, Ph.D.