What the Private Sector Can Learn from the CCBHC Model’s Growth
By Laura Lovett
August 6, 2026
Tima Miroshnichenko via pexels.com
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This article is an exclusive BHB+ piece.
Despite several funding scares over the last year, certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs) now serve more people than ever before. In 2025, 3.4 million people received care at one of the country’s 539 CCBHCs, according to a new report by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. That’s up nearly 13% since 2024.
CCBHCs are clinics certified by their state through Medicaid or funded by a federal grant, giving them flexible funding to support mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in their community. Unlike traditional clinics, CCBHCs are required to treat anyone in their community regardless of insurance status, diagnosis, or ability to pay.
A Growing Program
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With so many federal changes to Medicaid funding over the past two years, many providers were concerned about funding for CCBHCs. In early 2025, leaked documents from the Trump administration raised fears about a possible end to the CCBHC program or the elimination of its funding entirely. However, the program ended up getting support in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which exempts CCBHCs from new Medicaid cost-sharing requirements, preserving accessibility for patients. The bill also established a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program that rural providers, including CCBHCs, may be eligible to tap into.
And the program only seems to be expanding. In May 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) added 10 new states to the CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program.
Learning from Success
Overall, the program appears to be a growing success and one bright spot where a version of a value-based care program is actually working in behavioral health. I think there are a few interesting parts of the model that private health providers could look at when creating their own value-based arrangements. Still, the program is unique in important ways, and much of its flexibility comes from working within Medicaid, with both the financial backing and the restrictions that come with it.
In this week’s members-only BHB+ Update, I will explore:
- Where CCBHCs stand now
- Why they are working
- What private practices could learn from the CCBHC model