More NY students will soon have access to mental health clinics in schools
More students will be able to access mental health services in school-based clinics come January thanks to a change in the state budget.
Young people have been experiencing a mental health crisis, worsened by the pandemic, and clinics based directly in schools have served as one way to get kids access to services. But for many, insurance challenges have made it difficult to get these services.
For students to access mental health care at a school-based clinic it's "less stigmatizing than going to like an outpatient clinic," Westchester's Community Mental Health Commissioner Michael Orth said. There are also waiting lists to get into traditional outpatient clinics, he said.
Since school-based clinics are generally run by outside agencies, not the schools themselves, agencies must be paid by students' families or their insurance.
Come January, the state budget will require commercial insurance to reimburse school-based clinics at the same rates as Medicaid. Clinics accept Medicaid from students' families that qualify, while commercial insurance covers services to varying degrees.
Additionally, 137 school-based clinics in 73 districts across the state that either opened last year or will this year will get some of $8.3 million that Gov. Kathy Hochul dedicated to school-based clinics. That includes 13 clinics in schools in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, along with 15 others in the Hudson River region.
The clinics will each get $25,000. Eighty-two of the schools considered to have "high needs" will get an additional $20,000.
The money is intended to cover a range of costs, including: materials for clinical activities; coordination between clinicians and schools; and efforts to raise school and community awareness about children's mental health.
Challenges with insurance, and a solution
School-based clinics, which are run as satellite clinics by community agencies, not school districts, should make it easier for students to access care. Location-wise, they have done that. But to pay for services, students are often at the mercy of their insurance, just like at any other outpatient clinic.
Students whose families don't qualify for Medicaid may not be able to afford these services.
A major barrier has been that commercial insurance doesn't necessarily cover services in school-based clinics at the same rates that Medicaid does, Orth said. The clinics accept Medicaid and Medicaid Managed Care but commercial insurance rates vary for care in the clinics.
"Just like medical care, everything is really based on health insurance," Orth said. "And because of the lack of parity in behavioral health, it's harder for kids to access those services."
Starting in January, as required by the fiscal 2024 state budget, insurers will be required to reimburse clinics for outpatient care in school-based mental health clinics whether the provider is part of the student's network or not, according to a spokesperson from Hochul's office.
Medicaid rates for school-based mental health services will also increase by 25%.
"This is a very important development as commercial (private) insurance plans have significantly lower reimbursement rates than Medicaid for mental health outpatient services," Susan Hoerter, acting commissioner of Rockland County's Department of Mental Health, said in an email.
The change will start to address the gap between reimbursement rates for Medicaid and commercial insurance, Hoerter said. Right now, those with Medicaid "have access to a much broader array of mental health services," she said.
Westchester has 60 school-based mental health clinics, some of which date back to the late 1990s, Orth said. Five agencies that operate outpatient mental health clinics have clinics in schools in Westchester: Westchester Jewish Community Services, Family Services of Westchester, the Guidance Center of Westchester, Andrus, and Student Assistance Services.
The five agencies operate the clinics as satellites, though they work closely with school staff.
Westchester doesn't have any school-based mental health clinics in private schools, Orth said.
Rockland County has seven clinics in public schools and another in the works. It also has six clinics in private schools, Hoerter said.
Putnam County saw its first school-based clinic open in October in the Putnam Valley School District, operated by Cove Care Center, Sara Servadio, commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, Social Services & Youth Bureau, said in an email.
Which schools are getting state grants?
The new state funding for school-based clinics will help provide training and enhance suicide risk prevention, Orth said.
"It doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm sure it'll go to really supporting the therapists being in the school," he said.
In Bedford, the funding will go toward expanding clinic hours, Orth said.
"The funding will go toward providing mental health services that can be readily accessed on site," Servadio said. "This can eliminate the barriers of lack of access, parents scheduling conflicts, and transportation."
Below is a list of schools getting grants. Schools classified as having "high needs," marked with an asterisk, will get an additional $20,000 for a total of $45,000. These schools are in districts where at least half of students are economically disadvantaged.
Bedford: Fox Lane Middle School
Brewster: Brewster High School
Carmel: Carmel High School
East Ramapo: Kakiat STEAM Academy*
Hastings on Hudson: Farragut Middle School and Hastings High School (Farragut Complex), Hillside Elementary
Hendrick Hudson: Hendrick Hudson High School
Rye: The Midland School
Somers: Somers Middle School, Somers High School
Tarrytown: John Paulding School*, Winfield L. Morse School*, Washington Irving Intermediate School*, Sleepy Hollow Middle and High School*
Contact Diana Dombrowski at ddombrowski@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @domdomdiana.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Insurance change to make mental health care more accessible in NY schools
