Brief Description
Background: there are essential components of integrated behavioral healthcare that are currently not reimbursed in many (especially fee-for-service) health care environments despite the fact that there is as much or more evidence for the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of these elements of care as for many services covered in medical / surgical benefits. Examples include:
- Initial screening measurement (e.g., PHQ-9)
- Regular use of measurement tool to track treatment outcomes (e.g., PHQ-9)
- Non face-to-face care coordination and care management (e.g. telephone)
- Non face-to-face psychiatric consultation to PCPs and Care Managers
- Pursue commercial insurers and Medicaid managed care companies to seek parity between chronic disease care management and behavioral health care management.
- Add integrated care to essential benefits plan under ACA.
Opportunity (Why Now?)
- Federal and state parity laws
- Collaborative care for common mental disorders has a strong evidence-base
- ACA will increase the need and demand for patient-centered effective collaborative care
