Staff Boot Camp for OhioMHAS FY26

In an MBE set-aside solicitation, only those bidders/suppliers with an active MBE certification at the time the solicitation closes can submit a response

SRC0000032546

8/21/2025 2:00:00 PM

1. PURPOSE

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) is seeking proposals from qualified contractors to ready our staff for the changing terrain of behavioral health healthcare payor and reimbursement models. This includes, braiding, pooled, outcome and quality measurements and reporting, APMs, etc. The purpose is to equip our staff with the tools necessary to design, implement, operationalize, execute, and report on the effectiveness - and to advocate for alternative funding models for greatest efficiency and execution.  Trainings and exercises will occur over the course of six to eight weeks, culminating in a mandatory final exercise bringing all the trainings together and facilitating OhioMHAS staff drafting a theoretical OhioMHAS business plan for Ohio’s community behavioral health system for the future five to ten years using an outline developed and provided by the selected vendor.

1. BACKGROUND

OhioMHAS became a stand alone cabinet level agency in Ohio on July 1, 2013 with the merger of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) and the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH).  At the same time, the community behavioral health component of Ohio’s Mediciad program was transitioned from ODADAS/ODMH/OhioMHAS to the newly formed Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM).  With these and other chagnes, OhioMHAS is seeking facilitation of a training cohort that includes:

1. table top exercises
2. identifying a program and a benefit
3. solutioning on how to bring a program and benefit to scale and determine how to:
   1. gather information through RFI/listening sessions
   2. support a program and benefit through multiple financing options
   3. design a selective procurement bid
   4. identify system and provider readiness
   5. implementation strategies
   6. and operationalizing, executing, monitoring, and reporting on outcomes

1. SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

Selected contractor will provide a series of trainings and exercises over six to eight weeks for selected staff.  Trainings and exercises will consist of at least the following:

BH Benefits Design and Administration
Trainings and exercises in this area will, at a minimum, include history and evolution of behavioral health benefits under Medicaid (covered populations, including mandatory and optional, covered services, including mandatory and optional, coverage authorities [SPAs, Waivers, and combination approaches], delivery systems (FFS/MCP/ASO), etc.) to Medicare, employer sponsored (including MHPAEA considerations), exchange plans and indigent care using state (legislative/budget) and federal (SAMHSA) perspectives.  This would also include addressing the coordination and interplay between all the “players” using real world Ohio and other states examples.

Business and Financial Structures and Approaches
Trainings and exercises in this area will, at a minimum, address the real world business aspects of state governmental approaches and methods to financially supporting and directing businesses which are operating in the public community behavioral health arena.  Topics will include state government structures for all entities financially and administratively supporting behavioral health care providers (practitioners) and organizations (businesses), local structures (ADAMHS Boards, Hospital systems, local health departments, ODMH regulated entities, etc.) for business and financial support, and individual business models leveraged by individuals and organizations providing behavioral health services.

Financial Acumen
Trainings and exercises in this area will, at a minimum, address practical and pragmatic approaches to public financing of behavioral health benefits and services.  Items to address in this area at the state governmental and business levels are sequencing, blending, and braiding of funding, alternative payment models (APMs) to fee for service (FFS) such as PMPM, bundles, PFP, case rates, and episodes of care.  Underneath each of the APMs addressed, additional details for the financing approaches will include budgeting and financial management, outcome monitoring, quality metrics, and other metrics to properly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and return on investment for the APM.  Additionally, for both the state governmental and business levels, trainings and exercises will include addressing administrative aspects and coverage (grants, medicaid administrative claiming [MAC], inclusion of administrative overhead costs in determining financial viability of APMs) options for necessary administrative costs associated with behavioral health care services and delivery.

Perspectives and Considerations for BH service Organizations Leadership
Trainings and exercises in this area will, at a minimum, address all the previous topic areas but aligned with and representative of the perspective of Chief Executive/Operating Officers (CEOs/COOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of large, medium, and small community behavioral health services organizations certified by ODMH.  This may be accomplished through panel discussions/presentations (to the extent CEOs/COOs and CFOs are willing) to ODMH staff and associated real world exercises (e.g. taking an agency budget and staffing and working through how to apply funding reductions).

Deliverables:

1. A detailed timeline for all the above topics over the course of six to eight weeks.  Trainings should begin as soon as possible.
2. A master plan that includes a week by week schedule of onsite in person (no digital sessions but digital tools may be used to help facilitate the sessions) training/education sessions, all printed materials (e.g. workbooks, worksheets, literature, etc.), any “homework” that will expected to be completed in between trading/education sessions, and a master list of all digital resources that can be accessed for free.
3. A final facilitated on site session where the OhioMHAS participants will work through drafting a comprehensive theoretical OhioMHAS business plan for Ohio’s community behavioral health system for the future five to ten years.
4. An outline developed by the selected vendor for the business plan to be drafted by OhioMHAS staff.

Contractor shall not be subject to an “unresolved” finding for recovery under Section 9.24 of Ohio Revised Code.

PART FOUR: EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

1. Evaluation Process

OhioMHAS’s evaluation process of responses submitted to this request may consist of up to four distinct phases:

1. OhioMHAS’s initial review of all proposals for timely submission;
2. An evaluation committee review of the proposals for defects and scoring;
3. OhioMHAS’s request for more information (clarifications, interviews, presentations, and/or demonstrations); and,
4. Negotiations or best offer requests.

At its sole discretion, OhioMHAS will determine whether phases three and/or four are necessary under this RFP, reserving for itself the ability to eliminate or add phases three or four at any time during the evaluation process. OhioMHAS may add or remove sub-phases to phases 2 through 4 at any time if MHAS believes doing so will improve the evaluation process.

1. Proposal Evaluation Criteria

In the proposal evaluation phase, OhioMHAS staff or reviewers selected by OhioMHAS (the committee) will rate the proposals submitted in response to this RFP based on the following criteria and weight assigned to each criterion.