ACCESS-NY Behavioral Health Grant Brings Care Into Clinics
A five-year federal grant will help eight rural and federally qualified health centers combine primary care with mental health and substance-use support.
ACCESS-NY behavioral health funding will bring integrated mental health and substance-use care into eight New York primary care practices, with a focus on rural communities and patients who face barriers to treatment. The five-year, $10 million federal grant is expected to serve about 1,750 people age 6 and older who have chronic physical health conditions along with mental health or substance-use challenges.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the award Tuesday, Oct. 27. The New York State Office of Mental Health will administer ACCESS-NY, short for Advancing Collaborative Care for Evidence-Based, Sustainable Systems. The state plans to expand the Collaborative Care model at federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics.
The announcement matters in the Mohawk Valley, where patients may travel long distances for specialists and where primary care offices are often the first place people discuss depression, anxiety, substance use or stress connected with a chronic illness. However, the state has not yet identified the eight participating practices. No Mohawk Valley clinic should be described as an award site until OMH releases that list.
How the $10 million will be paid
Federal awards arrive in stages
The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provided $4 million at the start of the grant to cover the first two years. The agency is expected to provide another $2 million in each of the final three years, bringing the total to $10 million if the later awards are made as planned.
- Years one and two: $4 million provided up front
- Year three: $2 million
- Year four: $2 million
- Year five: $2 million
The governor’s release does not give a site-by-site funding breakdown, a start date for patient enrollment or the names of the selected health centers. It also does not say that every patient at a participating practice will automatically enter the program. Those details will matter when OMH moves from the grant announcement to implementation.
What collaborative care means
The Collaborative Care model places behavioral health expertise inside the primary care team. A behavioral health care manager works with the patient and primary care clinician. A psychiatric consultant supports the team, reviews cases and helps guide treatment and medication management when needed.
The goal is not to turn every medical appointment into psychiatric treatment. It is to identify common needs earlier, coordinate care and reduce the number of separate offices a patient must navigate. Someone managing diabetes, heart disease or chronic pain may also be living with depression, anxiety or substance use. Treating those conditions together can make the plan easier to follow and reduce gaps between medical and behavioral health services.
New York first supported the model in 2012. State officials say it has since expanded to more than 450 physical health practices. ACCESS-NY is intended to bring that approach to eight additional practices serving high numbers of patients with complex needs.
Who the initiative is designed to serve
ACCESS-NY will focus on patients age 6 and older who have chronic physical health conditions and co-occurring mental health or substance-use challenges. The state estimates that about 1,750 people will receive care through the five-year project.
The target group can include children, working-age adults and older residents. The release does not provide separate enrollment estimates by age, diagnosis, income or region. It also does not set out eligibility rules that a patient can use to apply directly. Participation will depend on the selected practices and their clinical processes.
Federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics often serve areas with provider shortages, lower incomes or limited transportation. They can treat patients regardless of insurance status under program rules, but charges, coverage and sliding-fee arrangements vary by site. ACCESS-NY is a provider expansion grant, not a new health insurance plan and not a cash benefit for patients.
Technology, training and workforce support
Electronic records and online training
The grant will support technology that connects with electronic health records. The state says those tools are intended to improve efficiency, track care and give primary care teams clinical decision support.
ACCESS-NY also plans to create online training so more clinicians and staff can learn integrated-care practices. The initiative will examine whether registered nurses and New York credentialed mental health support specialists can fill certain care-management roles. That work is intended to address workforce shortages without removing the need for licensed clinicians and psychiatric consultation.
The project will also build partnerships between primary care practices and community mental health centers. Those relationships are meant to work in both directions. A primary care patient may need specialty behavioral health treatment, while a person receiving mental health services may need help managing a physical condition.
Why rural access is a central issue
State Sen. Samra Brouk said more than 17 percent of New Yorkers live in rural areas and often face barriers to behavioral health care. Those barriers can include long travel distances, limited public transportation, provider shortages, waiting lists and a lack of specialists who accept a patient’s insurance.
Hochul said the funding is intended to reduce those barriers by placing behavioral health support in settings where people already receive medical care. OMH Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said the approach can help patients receive mental health support in a familiar setting while giving primary care teams added expertise.
Integrated care will not solve every shortage. A patient with an urgent crisis, a serious mental illness requiring specialty treatment or a need for inpatient care may still require services outside the primary care office. The grant is best understood as one part of the care system rather than a replacement for community mental health clinics, emergency services or hospitals.
What this means for Mohawk Valley patients
Because the eight practices have not been named, Mohawk Valley residents should not wait for ACCESS-NY before seeking help. Patients can ask their current primary care office whether it offers behavioral health screening, a care manager, counseling, medication support or referrals.
Upstate Family Health Center in Utica, for example, publicly lists behavioral health connections as part of its primary care services. That does not establish that it is an ACCESS-NY site. It is an example of a local place where patients can ask how physical and emotional health needs are coordinated.
The new grant also connects with other health-system investments covered by Utica Phoenix. New York recently funded a Binghamton emergency department and psychiatric emergency expansion. In Utica, the state is seeking proposals for supportive and affordable housing on the psychiatric center campus. Families can also review the Phoenix guide to Child Health Plus coverage.
How to find help now
For routine care, start with a primary care provider or use the federal Find a Health Center tool to locate community health centers. The New York Office of Mental Health also provides a directory that can be searched by county and program type. OMH Customer Relations can help people locate services or make a complaint at 1-800-597-8481.
If someone is experiencing a mental health or substance-use crisis, call or text 988 or use the chat at 988lifeline.org. The service is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day. People do not have to be suicidal to contact 988. Veterans can call 988 and press 1 or text 838255. Call 911 for an immediate medical or safety emergency.
If sharing this article with someone who may need help, send the service information privately and avoid posting personal medical details in public comments. Readers are welcome to discuss access problems, transportation barriers or provider shortages without naming patients or disclosing confidential health information.
What to watch next
OMH has several unanswered implementation questions to address: which eight practices will participate, where they are located, when enrollment begins, how patients are identified, how the $10 million is divided, and whether the model continues after the five-year grant ends.
Useful public reporting should also show more than the number of people served. Measures such as appointment access, follow-up rates, symptom improvement, emergency use, referral completion and patient experience can help New Yorkers judge whether integration is producing better care.
