BH-CONNECT is California's five-year Medicaid behavioral health demonstration, approved by CMS in December 2024. Here is what it funds, which new evidence-based services it covers, and what it practically means for treatment facilities.
BH-CONNECT is one of the biggest expansions of Medi-Cal behavioral health in years, and for treatment facilities it opens new reimbursable services — while routing most of the new money through the counties. Here is the operator's read. For the California context, see the Medi-Cal behavioral health hub.
BH-CONNECT — Behavioral Health Community-Based Organized Networks of Equitable Care and Treatment — is a California Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration, paired with State Plan Amendments, that expands coverage of evidence-based behavioral health practices under Medi-Cal. CMS approved key components in December 2024, and the demonstration is approved through December 2029. See the DHCS About BH-CONNECT page and the CMS approval letter.
Two large investments anchor the demonstration. The Access, Reform, and Outcomes Incentive Program rewards county behavioral health plans for improving access, reducing disparities, and strengthening quality. A separate Workforce Initiative funds scholarships, loan repayment, recruitment incentives, and residency and fellowship expansions. The important nuance for providers: the incentive dollars flow to county behavioral health plans, not to facilities directly, so whether your facility sees any of it depends on how your county structures its network and performance arrangements. See the DHCS press release.
This is where BH-CONNECT most directly affects treatment facilities. It establishes a continuum of evidence-based services, including Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and Forensic ACT, Coordinated Specialty Care for first-episode psychosis, Supported Employment, Community Health Worker services, and Clubhouse services, plus Transitional Rent — up to six months of rental support — for eligible members transitioning from institutions, congregate settings, or homelessness. Each new covered service is a potential new contracting and billing pathway with your county behavioral health plan.
The practical mechanics arrive through DHCS Behavioral Health Information Notices (BHINs), with county delivery-system rollout that began in 2025 and continues. That means the specifics are not uniform statewide — they depend on the relevant BHIN guidance and how each county operationalizes the services. The operator's job is to track the BHIN guidance and engage your county, rather than assume a single statewide standard.
As BH-CONNECT expands the menu of reimbursable evidence-based services, the facilities positioned to capture them are the ones whose documentation can support the new service definitions and produce clean claims. Navix is the clinical record built for behavioral health, and CollaborateMD, our RCM partner, processes the claims. Confirm current BH-CONNECT coverage and BHIN guidance on dhcs.ca.gov.
Want to see how Navix supports new Medi-Cal service lines? Schedule a demo, or read the Operator's Guide to Medi-Cal Behavioral Health.
