ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION In response to increasing Medicaid managed care initiatives, community mental health centers (CMHC), traditionally the leading providers of services for medical assistance and indigent clients, have begun to organize networks to protect their market position. CMHCs in Tennessee, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey and Oregon have formed consortia for coordinating services in response to statewide health care reforms. Florida also formed an Independent Provider Association with more than 50 centers with the express purpose of providing services to both commercially and publicly insured clients both regionally and statewide. The purpose of this chapter is to provide some guidance in forming a network of community mental health and public agency providers intending to deliver services in the public sector.
