On November 21st, the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) finalized changes to the Part 599 regulations for Article 31 outpatient mental health clinics. Article 31 clinics have been reclassified as rehabilitative services under the Medicaid state plan under the name “Mental Health Outpatient Treatment and Rehabilitation Services” (MHOTRS). The regulatory amendments add flexibility for billing and waiver processes, allow for the provision of peer/family support services, and allow off-site services for all populations served within MHOTRS.
The final regulations are available here. OMH also included supplemental guidance on the provision of the new peer services, which is available here. A summary of the changes is available here. The regulations are effective as of November 23, 2022.
The Managed Care Technical Assistance Center of New York (MCTAC) will be offering a learning collaborative focused on adopting infrastructure and best practices in response to these changes. The learning collaborative is open to agencies that are already providing or planning to provide Peer Support Services and/or Off-Site Services. Interested parties may apply to join the learning collaborative here by December 21st. Questions may be submitted to mctac.info@nyu.edu.