Mental Health and Drug Treatment Through Medicaid HealthChoices in Berks County
The County of Berks runs the Behavioral HealthChoices program, which covers mental health and substance use disorder treatment for people in Berks County who have Medical Assistance (Medicaid). HealthChoices is the managed care program in Pennsylvania for persons receiving Medical Assistance benefits through the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). The county is responsible for the behavioral health component through a contract with a behavioral managed care company, and it has selected Community Care Behavioral Health Organization (CCBH) as its managed care partner. Berks County HealthChoices staff oversee CCBH so the program follows DHS regulations. The program went into effect in Berks County on October 1, 2001.
It is for people receiving Medical Assistance through DHS. All eligible participants are required to participate in the HealthChoices program, which is designed to improve access to services and quality of care while improving cost effectiveness for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Mental health services in the Berks County HealthChoices provider network, for all ages, include blended case management, crisis intervention, inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, the Integrated Care and Wellness Center (ICWC), laboratory and diagnostic services, medication management, outpatient counseling including mobile counseling for adults and school-based counseling for children and adolescents, partial hospitalization, psychiatric evaluation and psychological testing, peer support for ages 14 and up, site-based and mobile psychiatric rehabilitation, and telepsychiatry. Adult services also include Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), clozapine support, the Dual Diagnosis Treatment Team (DDTT), PCS, the Windmill Project and Transition. Services for children and adolescents include community residential rehabilitation, host home, family based mental health services, Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS), Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and residential treatment facilities (RTF). Transition age services include Clubhouse psychiatric rehabilitation for ages 16 to 30 and a Residential Treatment Facility for Adults for ages 18 to 25.
Substance use disorder services for all ages include case management, hospital-based detox and rehabilitation, level of care assessment, non-hospital detox and rehabilitation, and outpatient counseling. Adult substance use services also include certified recovery support for ages 14 and up, halfway house, intensive outpatient, medicated assisted treatment and partial hospitalization. The list of network services is also on CCBH's member webpage at members.ccbh.com.
The first step is having Medical Assistance. For Medical Assistance information and applications, the county points people to the DHS Medical Assistance pages at dhs.pa.gov and to COMPASS at compass.state.pa.us. What treatment costs once you are enrolled is not stated.
Care is delivered by the providers in the CCBH network rather than at a county office. The Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities office, which oversees the program, is on the 8th floor of the Berks County Services Center, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601, open Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Its general-questions number is 610-478-3271. For immediate crisis services in Berks County, the county lists 610-379-2007.
If you are already enrolled in the Berks County Behavioral Health HealthChoices Program, you are encouraged to contact the Berks County Consumer/Family Satisfaction Team to complete a survey about your mental health or drug and alcohol services. For education, advocacy and support group information focused on mental health, you or your family may contact the Berks County Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Behavioral health coverage is separate from physical health coverage. For physical health needs, as of September 1, 2022 DHS contracts with these Berks County Physical Health HealthChoices plans: AmeriHealth Caritas, Geisinger, Health Partners, Highmark Wholecare and UPMC for You.
Source: berkspa.gov/departments/mental-health-developmental-disab…, read November 3, 2026.
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All eligible participants are required to participate in the HealthChoices program, which is designed to improve access to services and quality of care while improving cost effectiveness for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In Berks County Mental Health / Developmental Disabilities Program’s words
HealthChoices is the managed care program in Pennsylvania for persons receiving Medical Assistance (Medicaid) benefits through the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (opens in a new window) (DHS). All eligible participants are required to participate in the HealthChoices program, which is designed to improve access to services and quality of care while improving cost effectiveness for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The HealthChoices (opens in a new window) program went into effect on…
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Berks County Mental Health / Developmental Disabilities Program
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This listing summarizes publicly available information from berkspa.gov/departments/mental-health-developmental-disab…. Last recorded review: November 3, 2026. Contact the provider to confirm eligibility, hours and availability before you go. If something here is wrong, tell us.