FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, November 24, 2025
Contact: Gina DiGravio, 617-358-7838, ginad@bu.edu
Addressing Community Mental Health Needs: A Comparison of the Federal and State Models
Federal and Massachusetts behavioral health models differ in aspects of clinical needs, federal financial support, provider payment mechanisms.
(Boston)—In the decades following deinstitutionalization, the U.S. has yet to find an effective model of a comprehensive behavioral health continuum of care, from prevention to intervention, treatment and recovery. Federal Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) have grown to be the dominant model for comprehensive community mental health services across the country since 2014. However, the mechanisms of federal policies and funding resulted in implementation of CCBHCs that is not consistent across all parts of the country, with large variations between states. Massachusetts’ Community Behavioral Health Centers (CBHC) is similar to the federal model and was launched in 2023.
In a new study in the journal Frontiers in Health Services, researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine compared the Massachusetts and federal models and found that these programs share a similar policy backbone and intention, such as a comprehensive outpatient clinic, 24/7 crisis services, bundled payments and quality incentives, but differ in important details like how they’re paid, who regulates them and how specific crisis services are structured.
“Clinically, our comparison shows how design choices can improve access, continuity and potentially reduce emergency visits and hospital stays through different models of care. For policymakers, this manuscript provides several options for building a comprehensive, responsive and effective behavioral health infrastructure while answering regulatory questions as to how they might do so,” explains corresponding author Maxim Petrovsky, a third-year medical student at the school.
The researchers performed a comparative policy review by synthesizing federal laws and guidance, Massachusetts regulations and specifications, payment rules and published evaluations. They then organized the services, financing, quality measures and early outcomes to make their comparison.
Several differences stood out including:
According to the researchers, as other states consider developing a community behavioral health program, these comparative findings suggest that their decisions should be oriented toward fitting with individual statutory authority, delivery system capacity and equity priorities rather than a presumption that one model is categorically superior. “The interaction between these models underscores the diverse pathways states can take toward expanding comprehensive behavioral health care,” adds Petrovsky.
The coauthors of this research represent a broad-based collaboration, including BU faculty member Christopher T. Lim, MD sharing his views through the lens of a health system-based provider and medical director in BMC's Population Health Services team, and Swathi Damodaran, MD, MPH, from the Office of Clinical Affairs at UMass Chan Medical School and who serves as Associate Medical Director for Psychiatry at MassHealth.
Frontiers in Health Services
Data/statistical analysis
Not applicable
Addressing community mental health needs in the United States: a comparison of the federal Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic and Massachusetts Community Behavioral Health Center models
20-Nov-2025