Email UpdatesApplications Open for IBH Model
Applications are currently open for state Medicaid agencies (SMAs) to participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation in Behavioral Health (IBH) Model. Applications are due by 11:59pm ET on June 3, 2026. Interested state Medicaid agencies can apply here and see the Notice of Funding Opportunity (PDF - 1.5 MB) for additional details.
Contribution to Field of Integration
The IBH Model (the “Model”) centers specialty behavioral health organizations as a key entry point for whole-person care. Rather than asking behavioral health providers simply to refer out for physical health and social needs, the model supports specialty behavioral health practices in coordinating across behavioral health, primary care, specialty care, and community-based services. The model is also designed to align Medicare and Medicaid payment approaches so that providers serving Medicaid, Medicare, and dually eligible beneficiaries can move toward more integrated, value-based care.
The Model is intended to complement, not replace, existing behavioral health delivery and payment incentives, including Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs). One distinctive feature of the Model is its focus on aligning Medicaid and Medicare payment incentives around integrated care delivered through specialty behavioral health settings, including for dually eligible individuals.
Model Description
The Model for Cohort II Recipients is a seven-year, voluntary service delivery and payment model promoting integrated care in behavioral health settings. The Model will test the impact of a value-based payment (VBP) model aligned across Medicaid and Medicare that supports an integrated care delivery framework in specialty BH organizations and settings for adult Medicaid, Medicare, and dually eligible beneficiaries with moderate to severe mental health conditions, substance use disorders (SUDs), or both.
The model aims to:
- Improve behavioral and physical health outcomes for people with Medicare, Medicaid and dual-eligible who experience moderate to severe mental health condition(s), SUD(s), or both.
- Support integrated care teams that coordinate community-based providers, behavioral health clinicians, primary care, and social services to create care plans that support each person’s needs and preferences
- Align Medicaid and Medicare payments incentivizes support better quality, improved coordination, and more person-centered care
Model Eligibility and Timeline
CMS, through its Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center), will select up to five SMAs to participate in the Model. The Cohort II performance period will include a two-year Pre-Implementation Period beginning January 2027 and ending December 2028, followed by a five-year Implementation Period beginning January 2029 and ending December 2033. Up to $7.5 million dollars in cooperative agreement funding will be available to each selected Recipient over the course of the seven-year period.
Separately, eligible behavioral health practice in current Cohort I model areas – Michigan, Western New York, and South Carolina – may apply to participate in the Medicare component of the model through CMS’ Request for Application. Those applications are due by May 26, 2026, at https://app.innovation.cms.gov/IBH/IDMLogin.