Federal funds to help Peninsula Behavioral Health expand

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 3, 2026

PORT ANGELES — Peninsula Behavioral Health has secured a federal designation that will expand services and ensure no one is turned away for inability to pay, a timely move as declining funding and growing demand strain behavioral health care across rural Washington.

The Port Angeles nonprofit is one of only two organizations selected by the state Health Care Authority to become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic under the CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program, a four-year initiative that will provide stable funding for comprehensive, 24/7 mental health and substance use care.

The other organization is Valley Cities Behavioral Health Care in King County.

Peninsula Behavioral Health CEO Wendy Sisk said its new status will allow the organization to serve more patients and expand its reach.

“The way Medicaid works is the state makes an investment and then the federal government matches it,” Sisk said. “The CCBHC Demonstration Program is an enhanced federal match, so more federal dollars will come in to match the state dollars so that we can cover services we wouldn’t otherwise be able to cover.”

New and expanded services will include increased outreach to schools and deeper community-based crisis response. The funding also will cover population health management that will help people better control chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes and heart disease before they require costly emergency care.

Early treatment can save money and reduce demand across a range of community agencies and services.

“CCBHCs across the nation have found that they see less emergency department utilization and less incarceration, so less contact with law enforcement,” Sisk said.

“If you’re able to intervene with people in a more robust way and make sure that they’re getting their needs met, they’re less likely to come in contact with those other costly systems.”

Sisk said PBH anticipates adding about 20 full-time staff to its current workforce of about 165.

PBH will be reimbursed for working across providers and systems on a patient’s behalf, coordinating between behavioral health, primary care and other services in ways that weren’t previously covered.

The designation also means PBH is required to serve anyone who walks through the door, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay — a safeguard Sisk says is especially critical right now.

Sisk said rural communities like those in Clallam County tend to have a higher proportion of Medicaid and Medicare patients than more urban areas, and anticipated changes to Medicaid are expected to push more residents into the uninsured category.

“We want the community to know that, even if they don’t have healthcare coverage, they can still come to Peninsula Behavioral Health,” Sisk said.

Transitioning to a CCBHS comes with considerable administrative retooling. For example, PBH will have to rework its billing structure.

“It’s totally changing our funding mechanism,” Sisk said. “We are going to have to redo all of our managed care contracts.”

PBH provides all nine core services that are required for CCBHC designation: crisis services, outpatient mental health and substance use services, individual- and family-centered treatment planning, community-based mental health care for veterans, peer family support and counselor services, targeted care management, outpatient primary care screening and monitoring, psychiatric rehabilitation services, and screening, diagnosis and risk assessment.

It partners with the Jamestown Healing Clinic, the North Olympic Healthcare Network and Olympic Medical Center for medication-assisted treatment.

“We don’t feel like we need to reinvent the wheel when we have really effective partnerships and we can get people in for those services really quickly,” Sisk said.

The HCA oversees CCBHC exacting standards and monitors whether organizations are meeting them.

“We are meeting with the state at least every two weeks right now, talking about certification requirements, because it has to report to the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services and SAMHSA,” Sisk said.

She added most states choose to continue funding after the demonstration ends. In Washington, the Legislature already has directed the HCA to plan for that continuation.

“It costs more in the behavioral health system but tends to save money across other systems, provides better outcomes for program participants and is better for our communities,” Sisk said.

“This is going to give us the opportunity to be there for folks well into the future.”

________

Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.