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Section 298 Initiative

Section 298 Initiative

Section 298 Initiative

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The Section 298 Initiative is a statewide effort to improve the coordination of physical health services and behavioral health services in Michigan. This initiative is based upon Section 298 in the Public Act 268 of 2016. Under Section 298, the Michigan Legislature directs the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to develop a set of recommendations “regarding the most effective financing model and policies for behavioral health services in order to improve the coordination of behavioral and physical health services for individuals with mental illnesses, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders.” MDHHS submitted a final report with recommendations for the Michigan Legislature on March 15, 2017.

The Michigan legislature approved a revised version of Section 298 as part of Public Act 207 of 2018. Under the revised Section 298, the Michigan legislature directed the department to develop and implement up to three pilots and one demonstration model to test the integration of physical health and behavioral health services.

Core Values

Core Values

Corrections and Mental Health

Corrections and Mental Health

Reference Documents

Corrections and Mental Health

Health Status and Co-occurring Conditions

  • MDHHS is publishing a new set of informational resources on the Section 298 Initiative. The three documents are described in greater detail below. MDHHS will continue to update these documents throughout the implementation process.

    • Weekly Update - The Section 298 Action Team will develop and publish a weekly set of updates on the Section 298 Initiative throughout the implementation process. The latest version of the update can be accessed through the link below.
    • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Document on the Section 298 Initiative - The Action Team has received a wide variety of questions on the Section 298 Initiative over the last few months. The Action Team has developed the following FAQ document in response to these questions, and the Action Team will continue to update this document throughout the implementation process.
  • The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced today that it has submitted a progress report on the implementation of the Section 298 Initiative to the Michigan Legislature. The progress report includes an overview of the structure of the pilots and demonstration project and describes the progress that has been made to date on implementation. The report also provides an update on the implementation of 76 recommendations from the 298 Facilitation Workgroup. Finally, MDHHS provided a related set of detailed action plans for implementing the policy recommendations.

    The report is copied below. The detailed action plans can be accessed by clicking on the "Policy Recommendations" tab at the bottom of the page.

    Section 298(7) Boilerplate Report

  • The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is committed to an October 1, 2019 start date for the 298 Pilot Projects. One of the many variables that impacts this project is the management of the unenrolled population in the Pilot regions. MDHHS evaluated several options to manage the specialty behavioral health benefits for the unenrolled population and conducted outreach to stakeholder groups to solicit input. Based upon this process, MDHHS announced its intent to contract with one of Michigan’s existing Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans (PIHP) and planned to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a PIHP for this purpose.

    Due to various delays in efforts to release the RFP and concerns about being able to stand up a successful bidder in a timely manner, MDHHS has made the decision to stop the RFP process and keep the unenrolled population with their current PIHP of the Pilot counties. MDHHS believes that removing this potential barrier brings us closer to realizing the October 1, 2019 start for the 298 pilots and will ensure that there are no disruptions in services for this population.