On May 15, 2024, a new law (House File 2673) was signed. This law combined previously separated service systems that focused on mental health, gambling, substance use and tobacco into one system, now called the Behavioral Health Service System.
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There is no wrong door to accessing mental health and substance use services.
No matter where you are in Iowa, you can get the help you need.
The Administrative Service Organization (ASO), Iowa Primary Care Association, will handle tasks on the backend that make it easier for behavioral health providers to focus on giving quality care.
Nothing will change for Iowans who have Medicaid or private insurance, services and providers will stay the same. Iowans who do not have insurance or very limited insurance will be able to get help through the Behavioral Health Service System. All Iowans can use Your Life Iowa to get support through calls, texts, or chats. Behavioral Health System Navigators will guide people to the right care and services.
A "safety net provider" is a healthcare provider, like a certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC), community mental health center (CMHC), community health center (CHC), or public hospital, that helps people with low income or no insurance. These providers offer care even if someone can’t pay.
Prevention, education, and early intervention of mental health and addictive disorders, including but not limited to alcohol use, substance use, tobacco use, and problem gambling.
Crisis services for Iowans who need help right away
Services to support individuals' recovery
Outpatient treatment for mental health and addictive disorders
High-intensity treatment for serious needs
Alternatives to hospital care
Inpatient and residential treatment
Help for people involved in the justice system
System Navigation is a process that helps individuals understand and access the services they need. System Navigators help Iowans by:
Educating them on available services and options
Helping schedule appointments
Connecting to support groups and other resources
Helping to address barriers to care and troubleshoot when access is challenging
Anyone can use the System Navigation—there are no rules about who qualifies.
Behavioral health districts are defined geographic areas established to support the local coordination of services. The seven districts (495.22 KB) .pdf (map) are structured to promote fair distribution of resources, balanced workloads, and consistent access to care across the state.
Know someone affected by gambling, mental health, substance use or a related problem? Looking for help for yourself? Call Your Life Iowa 24/7 at 855-581-8111.
The Behavioral Health Statewide Service System Plan (4.13 MB) .pdf is Iowa’s guide to improving behavioral health services across the state. It was created with input from local communities and experts. The plan focuses on solving important problems and making sure everyone in Iowa can get the care they need.
The Division of Behavioral Health at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS), partnered with the Iowa Primary Care Association (Iowa PCA) and the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) to create the Behavioral Health Assessment Toolkit. This toolkit is a collection of resources that helps us understand the behavioral health needs of Iowans and guide improvements across the state.
What’s Inside the Toolkit
Behavioral Health Dashboard
A dashboard visualizing data on overdose deaths, suicide, and alcohol‑involved deaths to understand how behavioral health challenges vary across districts and over time.
Iowa Health and Wellbeing Survey
Results from a statewide study of nearly 4,000 Iowa adults about their awareness of and access to behavioral health services. Responses help highlight gaps, needs, and opportunities for improvement.
Behavioral Health Service System Reports
Reports on progress made across Iowa’s Behavioral Health Service System, covering prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery, and crisis services, as well as priorities for the year ahead.
Community Based Organizations and Community Member Feedback
District-level feedback from behavioral health Community Based Organizations and community members across Iowa highlighting their perspectives on behavioral health services.
More details on each part of the Behavioral Health Assessment Toolkit can be seen below.
Behavioral Health (BH) Dashboard
The first part of the assessment focused on understanding the overall behavioral health of communities across Iowa. This work answered the following questions: What are the behavioral health problems we are working to prevent? How much are communities affected by these problems? Did these problems get better or worse over time? Where are people most affected by these problems? Who is most affected? These questions were addressed by using the Iowa HHS Bureau of Health Statistics data on deaths related to overdose, suicide, and alcohol across all districts and over multiple years. Counts and rates were then compared at the district level, the state level, and with national data to show where needs are greatest and how trends are changing.
Please see this dashboard below for results. To enlarge the dashboard, please select the Open in New Window button in the bottom right corner of the dashboard:
Power BI URL or Embed Code
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To better understand Iowan's needs and awareness of behavioral health services, a statewide survey was developed and carried out. This survey was developed through collaboration between Iowa HHS and the Center for Social and Behavioral Research at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) and was conducted between October 15 and December 23, 2025.
The Iowa Health and Wellbeing Survey (IHWB) and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys are both population-based surveys utilizing probability samples. The IHWB used randomly selected addresses, while the BRFSS utilizes randomly generated landline and cellphone numbers. Both surveys provide data on attitudes, behaviors, and experiences. Briefly the IHWB is a confidential online and mail-in survey of Iowan adults that was conducted between the months of October-December 2025; on the other hand, the BRFSS is a confidential telephone survey of adults administered throughout the whole calendar year.
The IHWB and BRFSS are complementary surveys. These surveys provide comparable, but not identical, results of select measures that overlap both surveys. Differences could be explained by different methodologies and differing questions. Because each survey provides some unique information, monitoring the results of all is necessary to fully understand behaviors and experiences. The BRFSS is used to track state progress for the state health assessment and improvement plan as well the HHS service systems' state plans strategies and outcomes. The IHWB is used to inform Iowa HHS on overall awareness of behavioral health services, such as 988, Quitline, Your Life Iowa, among others, tracks select risk behaviors complementary to BRFSS and establishes baseline stigma associated with seeking behavioral healthcare.
To evaluate progress in strengthening Iowa’s Behavioral Health Service System over State Fiscal Year 2026 (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026), Iowa HHS prepared both an evaluation report and a legislative brief detailing the efforts towards achieving the goals and outcomes of the Behavioral Health State Plan (BHSS). Information, data, and a fiscal overview on the launch of the BHSS is outlined for the five lanes of the behavioral health continuum: Prevention, Early Intervention, Treatment, Recovery, and Crisis. The reports highlight improvements made during State Fiscal Year 2026 and identify priorities for the upcoming year.
Iowa HHS and Iowa PCA worked together to learn directly from behavioral health Community Based Organizations and community members across each behavioral health district. Through surveys and guided conversations, perspectives were gathered on what supports are needed, what challenges currently exist and what could help strengthen the Behavioral Health Service System. This effort is part of a larger statewide partnership focused on building a stronger behavioral health system for Iowans. The district-level results are available below.
Iowa HHS and Iowa PCA (BH-ASO) have worked together to develop a document that contains Contract Guidance for Community Based Organizations (organizations contracting with Iowa PCA for behavioral health services). A shift in the language was made from "provider" to "Community Based Organization" as not all organizations that support the Behavioral Health Service System identify as providers. CBOs is an umbrella term inclusive of providers and will be used through the Contract Guidance document.
This document provides operational guidance for Community Based Organizations implementing services under the redesigned behavioral health infrastructure. It is intended to clarify roles, define expectations, and align service delivery with the statewide vision outlined in the Iowa Behavioral Health Service System Statewide Plan. Additional guidance in the form of program manuals will be provided dependent upon the needs of the contract as a part of the Behavioral Health Service System implementation (post July 1).
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The current prevention network includes prevention services primarily focused on substance use, problem gambling, tobacco and mentoring.
Recovery is defined as non-clinical support that promotes recovery, wellness and connection. Recovery can also mean the process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential. The two sections here are Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) and Transitional Living contracts and Peer Operated Organizations contracts.
Crisis is defined as community-based services that focus on the immediate de-escalation and relief of the distress associated with a behavioral health crisis.
Access funds, as defined by Iowa Administrative Rules 441—300.1(225A), means funding provided to a behavioral health safety net provider by a behavioral health administrative services organization to support enhanced service delivery, maintain access to services, and fund other necessary expenses that fall outside of the scope and payment structures of other available funding.
Information for Providers & Community Based Organizations (CBOs)
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The Iowa PCA encourages providers and partners supporting behavioral health services in Iowa to complete a Provider Profile.
This Provider Profile will help the Iowa PCA build a provider network directory and ensure accurate information about providers interested in contracting to provide services to support the continuum in Iowa's Behavioral Health Service System, including Prevention, Early Intervention, Treatment, Recovery, and Crisis services.
Iowa HHS and the Iowa PCA have developed a Provider & Partner Toolkit to help educate providers and partners about changes to the Behavioral Health Statewide System starting July 1, 2025.
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The SNMIS Billing and Companion Guides are designed to support your successful use of the SNMIS platform for filing claims for SUPTRS, Behavioral Health, and Non-Medicaid LTSS Disability Services.
All Behavioral Health and Disability Service providers must register in the new SNMIS claim reimbursement system as soon as possible to ensure they are ready to submit claims beginning July 1, 2025.
To register, follow these steps:
To submit claims for services through SNMIS, providers must be enrolled and in good standing with Iowa Medicaid, and any applicable licensing or accreditation bodies. Information on enrolling with Iowa Medicaid can be found here: Medicaid Provider Enrollment.
Enrollment in Iowa Medicaid will not automatically give you access to billing claims in SNMIS. Iowa Medicaid enrolled providers MUST register with Electronic Data Interchange Support Services (EDISS) for the SNMIS line of business.
Important note: If you are using a vendor for electronic claim submission, the vendor will be required to update their registration in the EDISS to select the SNMIS line of business. A vendor will not be available for selection in the vendor search when adding transactions unless that vendor has the SNMIS line of business selected in their vendor account. Providers will be directed to go back to the vendor advising that the SNMIS line of business needs to be selected. If the Vendor needs assistance, they can contact the EDI Call Center.
In 2023, The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services issued a Request for Proposal for technical assistance and recommendations for Iowa’s crisis continuum of care. Health Management Associates (HMA) was awarded the contract to assess Iowa’s current crisis services and provide a roadmap and recommendations for shifting Iowa’s mental health crisis system to a statewide, coordinated behavioral health crisis system. HMA submitted the Transforming Iowa’s Behavioral Health Crisis Continuum of Care System Assessment and Recommendations Report to Iowa HHS. Read the report's executive summary below.
