CMS announces Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration

States can apply through Oct. 14 to participate in the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Aug. 9. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides $75 million for the three-year demonstration project, which will provide federal matching funds to states for inpatient emergency psychiatric care provided to non-elderly Medicaid-covered adults by private psychiatric hospitals.

The American Hospital Association-supported project will examine whether the funding improves access to care and Medicaid costs, reduces crowding in general hospital emergency departments and should be expanded nationally. For more on the project, administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, visit www.cms.gov.