Health leaders urge funding restoration for mobile crisis intervention

Pacific Clinics provides behavioral health services across the state, including in the counties of Santa Clara and Solano. One of its programs is for mobile crisis intervention, which are in-person, community-based programs where crisis response teams meet with patients at homes or schools to provide deescalation and support for those experiencing a mental health crisis.

Since 2023, these services have been covered by Medi-Cal, the state’s version of federal Medicaid.

However, as part of his budget proposal, Newsom has proposed shifting mobile crisis response from a required Medi-Cal benefit to an optional one, thus placing the costs of the programs onto counties.When the mobile crisis services benefit rolled out as covered by Medi-Cal, the federal government agreed to provide a temporary, enhanced federal match to cover 85% of costs. However, that match will drop to 50% next year.

Michelle Doty Cabrera, the executive director of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, said that cutting state funding for mobile crisis intervention would force counties to pay around $168 million annually in order to keep the service alive. The County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California is an advocacy coalition representing behavioral health directors of all 58 counties in the state.