State Medicaid Policies for Mobile Crisis Services: A National Policy Mapping Study, August–November 2024.
Objectives. To assess the specificity of Medicaid policy guidance for mobile crisis teams across all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Methods. We conducted a national policy mapping study (August–November 2024), reviewing publicly available Medicaid documents, including state plan amendmen...
| Published in: | American Journal of Public Health Vol. 116; no. 10; pp. 1586 - 1595 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
American Public Health Association
Oct2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=196888057&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 196888057 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00900036 APH jtl: American Journal of Public Health issn: 00900036 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Oct2026 vid: 116 iid: 10 pid: 44 pub: American Public Health Association artinfo: ui: 196888057 10.2105/AJPH.2026.308471 ppf: 1586 ppct: 9 formats: tig: atl: State Medicaid Policies for Mobile Crisis Services: A National Policy Mapping Study, August–November 2024. aug: au: Anderson, Andrew Jorem, Jacob Dordi, Eyra Wang, Julia Satpathy-Horton, Rajesh Kennedy-Hendricks, Alene su: Washington (D.C.) United States Health services accessibility Documentation Mental health services Health policy State governments Age distribution Medicaid Health insurance reimbursement Diversity & inclusion policies Mobile hospitals Medical coding Eligibility (Social aspects) sug: subj: Health services accessibility Documentation Mental health services Health policy State governments Age distribution Medicaid Washington (D.C.) United States Administration of Human Resource Programs (except Education, Public Health, and Veterans' Affairs Programs) Administration of Public Health Programs Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities Health insurance reimbursement Diversity & inclusion policies Mobile hospitals Medical coding Eligibility (Social aspects) ab: Objectives. To assess the specificity of Medicaid policy guidance for mobile crisis teams across all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Methods. We conducted a national policy mapping study (August–November 2024), reviewing publicly available Medicaid documents, including state plan amendments, waivers, provider manuals, and billing guidance. We extracted 53 policy features and grouped them into 15 domains. Domains included mobile crisis team–specific billing codes, age-inclusive eligibility, licensed provider requirements, and follow-up or documentation expectations, as well as defined response time frames. We coded each feature as present or absent by state. We also reviewed state appropriations for mobile crisis teams, 988 integration in Medicaid behavioral health policy, and Medicaid expansion status. Results. Most states required licensed provider involvement (96.1%) and follow-up or documentation protocols (74.5%); fewer specified billing mechanisms (68.6%) or age-inclusive eligibility (70.6%). Only 6 (11.8%) states defined response time standards. States varied widely in the number of policy supports documented. Conclusions. The specificity of Medicaid policy guidance varies widely, with gaps in billing, eligibility, and timeliness. Public Health Implications. Differences in Medicaid policy specificity may influence how mobile crisis services are implemented across states. (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(10):1586–1594. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308471) pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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