The Alabama Medicaid SMI public forums will give beneficiaries, providers and other interested residents two ways to discuss the state’s serious-mental-illness demonstration: meetings in Daphne and Montgomery, plus online and telephone access.
Alabama Medicaid announced the annual forums Friday. The Daphne session is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 30, and the Montgomery session for Tuesday, Dec. 1. Both run from 11 a.m. to noon Central Time.
The agency will also accept written comments from Nov. 14 through Dec. 14. The meetings and comment period concern Alabama’s Section 1115 Institutions for Mental Disease Waiver for Serious Mental Illness, often shortened to the SMI demonstration.
Alabama Medicaid SMI public forums schedule
The first forum is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 30, at 7400 Roper Lane in Daphne. The second is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, at the Alabama Medicaid Agency, 501 Dexter Avenue in Montgomery. The Alabama Medicaid SMI public forums use the same one-hour schedule in both cities.
Each forum has a Webex option and a published telephone dial-in. Because meeting links, passwords or access instructions can change, participants should open the official 2026 forum notice shortly before joining instead of copying credentials from an older calendar entry.
The notice says providers, beneficiaries and other interested individuals may participate. It does not restrict the forums to residents of Baldwin, Mobile or Montgomery counties.
People attending in person may want to arrive early enough to find the meeting room and review any posted instructions. The agency notice does not publish parking, security-screening or speaker-registration details, so this guide does not assume them.
How to submit a written comment
Written comments will be accepted beginning Nov. 14 and must be received by Dec. 14, according to Alabama Medicaid. The agency lists two delivery methods:
– Email to `PublicComment@Medicaid.Alabama.gov` – Mail to Administrative Secretary, Alabama Medicaid Agency, 501 Dexter Avenue, P.O. Box 5624, Montgomery, Alabama 36103-5624
The notice says written submissions will be available for public review during normal business hours at the Dexter Avenue address. Commenters should therefore avoid including private medical details, Medicaid identification numbers or information that identifies another patient unless the agency specifically requests it through a secure process.
A useful comment can identify one concrete issue, describe the experience or evidence behind it, and state the change the commenter wants considered. A provider might address care coordination or discharge planning. A beneficiary or caregiver might describe access to crisis, inpatient or community-based services without publishing an individual’s diagnosis or treatment history.
What the SMI demonstration covers
CMS approved Alabama’s SMI demonstration in May 2022. The authority allows federal Medicaid participation for eligible adults ages 21 through 64 during short-term acute-care stays in qualifying psychiatric hospitals that are institutions for mental diseases in Baldwin and Mobile counties.
Alabama Medicaid says eligible beneficiaries from any county may access participating institutions when they qualify for inpatient behavioral-health services. The agency’s stated goals include reducing emergency-department waits and preventable readmissions, expanding crisis-stabilization options, improving community-based services and strengthening continuity of care after an acute episode.
The annual forum is a review opportunity, not an announcement that those goals have already been achieved. Readers seeking program documents can use Alabama Medicaid’s SMI waiver page, which links the approval and prior public materials.
Questions worth reviewing before the forum
Participants can make the hour more useful by reviewing the current program and preparing a focused question. Topics tied to the state’s stated goals may include:
– Whether emergency-department waiting time has changed – How discharge plans connect patients with community care – Whether mobile crisis and stabilization services are available where people need them – How the state measures readmissions and continuity of care – What beneficiaries and providers should do when an expected service is unavailable
Those are suggested areas for inquiry, not claims that a particular deficiency exists. The official materials and any data presented at the forums should guide the discussion.
For related agency information, see the guide to Alabama Medicaid system maintenance on Oct. 24. Readers interested in another local comment opportunity can review the Chilton County Transit fare hearing.
The key dates for the Alabama Medicaid SMI public forums are Nov. 30 in Daphne, Dec. 1 in Montgomery and Dec. 14 for the close of written comments. Checking the official notice before participating is the best way to confirm current access instructions.
