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Tags Posts tagged with "behavioral health"

behavioral health

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Governor Josh Shapiro and members of the General Assembly have agreed to a $50.1 billion budget for the 2025/26 Fiscal Year. This is $2.3 billion more than last year’s budget but less than the Governor’s $51.5 billion proposed budget. The budget includes a $105 million increase in basic education, $665 million for highway improvements, and $1 billion for highway maintenance.

For Human Services, the General Budget bill includes the following increases from 2024/25 to the 2025/26 budget:

  • Medical Assistance – Capitation: +3.5%
  • Medical Assistance – Fee For Service: +.4%
  • Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities: +12.3%
  • Medical Assistance – Transportation: +5.9%
  • Medical Assistance – Long-Term Living: +4.7%
  • Medical Assistance – Community Health Choices: +10.7%
  • Long-Term Managed Care: +6.8%
  • Intellectual Disabilities – Community Base Program: +4.4%
  • Intellectual Disabilities – Intermediate Care Facilities: +2.9%
  • Intellectual Disabilities – Community Waiver Program: +6.1%
  • Autism Intervention Services: +12.9%
  • Early Intervention: 7.1%

The following lines have been flatlined or cut between the 2024/25 and 2025/26 budgets:

  • Behavioral Health Services: 0.0%
  • Mental Health Services: -1.9%
  • Intellectual Disabilities State Centers: -5.2%

Please find the entire 2025/26 Budget spreadsheets here.

Additionally, in other Code bills, $20 million was appropriated for county-based mental health funding, and the Four Walls payment issue was resolved in the human services code bill by abrogating 1153.15(6) and 1223.14(11) from 55 Pa. Code.

RCPA will continue to update members as more information from the budget is available. We will discuss the budget in detail during the Government Affairs meeting next Thursday, November 20, 2025. You can register for the meeting here.

Contact Jack Phillips with any questions.

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Drexel University’s Division of Behavioral Healthcare Education has announced its 33rd Forensic Rights and Treatment Conference to held virtually on Wednesday and Thursday, December 10–11, 2025. The conference theme is “Contemporary Issues Impacting Forensic Services.” The conference will feature live and pre-recorded presentations addressing a wide variety of forensic topics pertinent to behavioral health. The virtual format allows participants to earn additional continuing education credits by accessing session recordings after the conference. More information is available online or by downloading the conference flyer.

The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has announced that the proposed Licensure of Crisis Intervention Services regulations will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on October 18, 2025. The package is also posted on the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) website and can be found here. OMHSAS’ proposed regulation seeks to codify minimum standards for the issuance of licenses to provide emergency behavioral health crisis intervention services (crisis intervention services) in the Commonwealth in alignment with national best practices for crisis services.

Starting October 18, 2025, and closing November 17, 2025, the public may submit written comments regarding the proposed rulemaking to the Department via email. Please be aware that all public comments must be published verbatim on the IRRC website with the name of the commenter included. OMHSAS fully supports and encourages individuals with lived experience to submit comments on the regulation, but please be sure you are comfortable with the content of your comment being made public with your name.

Comments may also be submitted to the following address:

Department of Human Services
OMHSAS – Bureau of Policy, Planning, and Program Development, Attention: Tara Pride
Commonwealth Tower, 11th Floor
303 Walnut Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105

RCPA will be convening a Crisis Intervention Regulatory Review Team to evaluate the proposed regulations and submit comments. If any member is interested in participating in the review group, please contact Emma Sharp.

Elevating Pennsylvania’s Providers: The Future of AI for Documentation & Compliance in BH and IDD
October 29, 2025
1:00 pm ET
Register Here

Pennsylvania’s behavioral health and IDD providers face increasing demands for accuracy, compliance, and efficiency — all while staff are overextended and burnout is rising. Traditional documentation tools are no longer enough.

This webinar, presented in partnership with RCPA, will showcase how Pennsylvania providers are embracing organizational AI to strengthen clinical documentation, improve compliance, and reduce administrative burden across every program and service line. Ross Young and Michelle Montowski of Clinically AI will showcase how their organization is supporting RCPA members through adoption cohorts, creating a statewide movement to elevate documentation quality, reduce risk exposure, and give staff back valuable time for care.

Participants will learn how to:

  • Implement real-time compliance auditing that ensures documentation meets state, federal, and payer requirements.
  • Use ChartAware AI to incorporate longitudinal client history into documentation, enhancing quality and continuity of care.
  • Support every discipline and setting — from therapists and psychiatrists to DSPs, case managers, nurses, and peer specialists.
  • Reduce audit risk by automatically flagging compliance gaps before submission.
  • Explore how Pennsylvania providers are working together to shape best practices and accelerate adoption.
  • See how AI can be deployed responsibly — with clinicians always in charge.

This webinar is primarily for:

  • CEOs, COOs, and CFOs of behavioral health and IDD organizations;
  • Compliance, Quality, and Clinical leaders; and
  • IT & Operations leaders.
Register Today

Elevating Pennsylvania’s Providers: The Future of AI for Documentation & Compliance in BH and IDD
October 29, 2025
1:00 pm ET
Register Here

Pennsylvania’s behavioral health and IDD providers face increasing demands for accuracy, compliance, and efficiency — all while staff are overextended and burnout is rising. Traditional documentation tools are no longer enough.

This webinar, presented in partnership with RCPA, will showcase how Pennsylvania providers are embracing organizational AI to strengthen clinical documentation, improve compliance, and reduce administrative burden across every program and service line. Ross Young and Michelle Montowski of Clinically AI will showcase how their organization is supporting RCPA members through adoption cohorts, creating a statewide movement to elevate documentation quality, reduce risk exposure, and give staff back valuable time for care.

Participants will learn how to:

  • Implement real-time compliance auditing that ensures documentation meets state, federal, and payer requirements.
  • Use ChartAware AI to incorporate longitudinal client history into documentation, enhancing quality and continuity of care.
  • Support every discipline and setting — from therapists and psychiatrists to DSPs, case managers, nurses, and peer specialists.
  • Reduce audit risk by automatically flagging compliance gaps before submission.
  • Explore how Pennsylvania providers are working together to shape best practices and accelerate adoption.
  • See how AI can be deployed responsibly — with clinicians always in charge.

This webinar is primarily for:

  • CEOs, COOs, and CFOs of behavioral health and IDD organizations;
  • Compliance, Quality, and Clinical leaders; and
  • IT & Operations leaders.
Register Today