The Treatment Access Program (TAP) Mental Health Central Access

Who is served by the San Francisco Mental Health Plan (SFMHP)?

Currently, the San Francisco Mental Health Plan (MHP) offers mental health benefits to San Francisco Medi-Cal beneficiaries, as well as indigent and uninsured residents of San Francisco. The plan is available for San Francisco residents with limited or no resources to cover their mental health care.

All San Francisco Medi-Cal beneficiaries are automatically members of the San Francisco Mental Health Plan (MHP). Healthy Families and Healthy Workers members of the San Francisco Health Plan are also San Francisco MHP members. In addition, the San Francisco MHP recognizes the public mental health system's role as a safety net for San Francisco residents who lack insurance coverage or the means to cover the cost of mental health care. San Francisco has opted to provide a single Mental Health Plan with the same services offered to Medi-Cal beneficiaries and indigent San Francisco residents.

Mental health services approved by the San Francisco MHP are provided to most individuals who receive Medi-Cal benefits at no fee or with minimum share of cost. For all others, fees are based on a sliding scale.

What Services Are Provided?

Consumers may access behavioral health services by calling the local or toll-free Central Access phone numbers 415.255.3737 or 1.888.246.3333 or by walking into any one of our clinic sites. Staff is available 24 hours, 7 days a week to assist you with getting help. Consumers have access to a comprehensive array of community-based services, including but not limited to:

• Information and referral services.
• Prevention services.
• A full range of voluntary behavioral health services for children, adults and older adults, including self-help, peer support, outpatient, case management, medication support, social rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation, day treatment, dual diagnosis treatment, substance abuse services, supported housing, residential care, transitional residential treatment, sub-acute residential treatment, and crisis residential treatment.
• Behavioral health services for children with special education needs.
• 24-hour psychiatric emergency services, mobile crisis services, and a crisis hotline.
• Involuntary assessment, inpatient hospitalization, and long-term care services for individuals found to be a danger to themselves or others, or who are gravely disabled due to a psychiatric problem.

If you are already enrolled and receiving services provided by the San Francisco MHP and need help anywhere in the State when no tin San Francisco, call the toll free Mental Health Central Access Help line to arrange care.

Outside of our county network of services, the State of California’s Fee-for-Service Medi-Cal program continues to offer some services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries that have been “carved out” of County mental health plans. These include substance abuse services; private psychologist and psychiatrist services for individuals who have both Medi-Cal and Medicare; and services for individuals with cognitive and organic brain disorders.

Mental health services delivered by primary care providers are not covered by San Francisco MHP, but these services may be covered through the Fee-for-Service Medi-Cal program or one of the two health plans for those enrollees.

If you have any additional questions regarding these services and the eligibility status of you or a friend or, family member seeking services, please call us at 1.800.750.2727, 415.255.3737 or 1.888.246.3333 or, email us at the email address below. We will do our best to respond to you within three working days of receiving the email.
tapsf@sfdph.org