Open Enrollment season is upon us! During Open Enrollment, individuals and families can check their insurance coverage options, compare health plans, and enroll in health insurance coverage for 2024. Our navigators can help you compare your health coverage options and enroll!
Read MoreOregon has received federal approval to pilot first-in-the-nation changes to the state’s Medicaid program over the next five years. Under the agreement, Oregon would receive $1.1 billion in new federal funds to address inadequate food, housing and other root-cause issues that lead to poor health for people and families struggling to make ends meet.
Read MoreOpen Enrollment season is upon us! New and existing Healthplanfinder customers can begin shopping for a 2023 Qualified Health Plan (QHP) and Qualified Dental Plan (QDP) on November 1, 2022. Our navigators can help customers select a plan by December 15, 2022 for their coverage to start January 1, 2023!
Read MoreThe HCA is asking for feedback on their draft application for our state’s Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver renewal. They will use feedback to refine the application that the HCA will submit to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this summer. Read the letters from BHT’s Board of Directors and Community Voices Council.
Read MoreAs 2021 closes, BHT still has approximately $1.5 million of IMC funds to allocate. At the September BH Forum, partners discussed how they would like to see us use the IMC funds over the next two years. At the November Board meeting, the Board approved allocation for the remaining IMC funds toward behavioral health initiatives in 2022-23.
Read MoreOpen Enrollment season is upon us! New Healthplanfinder customers can begin shopping for a 2022 Qualified Health Plan (QHP) and Qualified Dental Plan (QDP) on November 1, 2021. For their coverage to start January 1, 2022, customers must select a plan by December 15, 2021.
Read MoreThe Child Tax Credit (CTC) is intended to cut the child poverty rate in half. Approximately 2,500-3,000 children whose families have usually not filed taxes may not receive the CTC, potentially losing $3.7m to $4.6m in funding for families in the Spokane region. Help spread the word about CTC eligibility for families who usually do not file taxes!
Read MoreBHT was delighted to welcome Michael Arnis, Deputy Policy Director for the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA). Michael shared the early thinking of the agency as they prepare to submit a renewal to our state's 1115 Waiver. This presentation shares the high-level concepts of the renewal for the BHT Board to consider during their strategic planning efforts for BHT. Watch the full presentation to learn more!
Read MoreBHT took into consideration many factors when designing the funds flow model for Medicaid Transformation Project achievement in years 2019-2021. Click to read about the funds flow models approved by the BHT Board at their November 28, 2018 meeting.
Read MoreBHT is hiring for several positions! Use your skills and professional approach to help us achieve better health, better care, and reduce costs in our seven-county region. Check out our Careers page to learn more and apply.
Read MoreWe've released a Request for Proposals (RFP) inviting applications from contracted partners connected to or providing behavioral health services for projects that will help reduce barriers for patients accessing telehealth behavioral health services during COVID-19. Individual awards of up to $20,000 per partner are available until the $300,000 available is expended. Learn more and apply by April 16th priority funding deadline!
Read MoreThe BHT Board of directors unanimously approved a total of nearly $1.3M for a robust COVID response strategy. This decision will kick off a busy spring for our team and the many partners we will be working with to get this work off the ground.
Read MoreFor help with health insurance, call (509) 340-9008. The Navigators at BHT are available to assist customers over the phone during this Special Enrollment Period from February 15-May 15.
Read MoreWashington’s nine Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs) have received $2 million from Cambia Health Solutions to address the urgent mental and behavioral health needs in rural communities intensified by COVID-19. The funds will be distributed across the ACHs, and each organization will disperse the dollars based on the needs in their region.
Read MoreWatch the recent Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee work session on health equity work in the public and private sectors. Event speakers include Dr. Tim Garnett, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Eli Lilly, Dekker Dirksen, Director of Public Policy for Community Health Plan of Washington, Ken Jaslow, Vice President of Quality and Healthcare Performance with Premera Blue Cross, Paul Hollie, Social Impact Lead for Premera Blue Cross, and Alison Poulsen, the Executive Director of Better Health Together.
Read MoreIn 2021, we as a group will begin having important conversations about race and equity in our region. Kurtis Robinson, our new Board Representative Co-Chair, is the current Vice-President of the NAACP and is an activist in anti-racist and destigmatizing work in Spokane. He is a highly respected and sought-after equity and anti-racist trainer. We are privileged to have his wisdom and life experience on our council as we start this journey together. We will have difficult and often challenging conversations, but as BHT likes to say, "There isn't any growth in the comfort zone." Learn more about what the CVC will be working on in 2021!
Read MoreAs we entered 2020, the Board agreed to a deliberate effort to plan for BHT beyond the Waiver. From May through September 2020, the Board engaged in a planning process focused on our future and financial sustainability. The process included reviewing our history, assessing our capabilities and initiatives, surveying the external environment, and gathering staff input. Board members discussed gaps in the region and identified opportunities to build on and expand current work. Finally, the Board identified areas for us to focus on going forward.
Read MoreJanuary 15 marked the last day of Open Enrollment 8. We are sure you can hear the collective sigh of relief as our hardworking Navigator Network eased back into a more normal pace of work. Our Access to Care team along with the entire Navigator Network assisted over 4,000 of these individuals in gaining or continuing their health coverage.
Read MoreWith a mostly virtual legislative session before us, we urge the Legislature to be intentional in its inclusion of the voices of Black, Indigenous, and people of color in its decision making.
Read MoreThe report includes a regional overview: behavioral health needs, treatment, and financing, as well as focused subsections of the report provide more in-depth data on: 1) racial/ethnic disparities in behavioral health care access; 2) community behavioral health; and 3) transportation and geographic access to care.
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