North Carolina will implement a new statewide Medicaid plan in 2024 designed to integrate behavioral and physical health services for children.
According to a Jan. 17 news release from the state's department of health and human services, the state will issue a request for bids from organizations to manage the new Children and Families Specialty Health Plan in the coming weeks.
The new plan will automatically enroll tens of thousands of children, including children in foster care, children receiving adoption assistance, and former foster care youth under 26.
The plan will expand access to outpatient therapy, inpatient behavioral healthcare, crisis care and residential treatment for children, according to the release.
The new Medicaid plan is part of North Carolina's broader effort to restructure its behavioral healthcare system.