5 minute read Most people wouldn’t think of CVS, Kroger, Walgreens, Walmart or Costco as their primary care home. Even fewer would consider these retailers as their behavioral health provider location. However, each of these retail giants is reaching for larger portions of the health care marketplace to supplement their core business. Consumers, frustrated […]
Redefining the Gun Debate: A Fresh Perspective on Safety and Mental Health
3 minute read In the ongoing gun debate, one side sees guns as tools for self-defense, while the other sees them as instruments of harm. Both perspectives hold truths, but as gun-related incidents continue to rise, this discussion has reached a fevered pitch. Increasingly, mental illness is proposed as the root cause of gun violence […]
President Biden’s Plan for Integrated Behavioral Health
Maybe one of the only positives of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increase in attention to the long-standing crisis in behavioral health and the movement to address the systemic barriers which prevent people from getting care. President Biden has announced a national strategy to address the mental health crisis. The Department of Health and […]
Proposed 2023 CMS Medicare Payment Changes May Advance Integrated Care
Several changes proposed in the 2023 CMS Physician Fee Schedule and Medicare Part B policies may help to advance integrated care. The proposed changes include a new General BHI service code for use when behavioral health is the focal point of care and allowing previously excluded behavioral health professionals to provide services to Medicare patients. The […]
The Current State of Integrated Care
Two recent reports provide insight into the state of integrated care. Here we summarize their findings so you don’t have to do all the reading! The Year 4 evaluation of the CMS alternative payment model, CPC+, describes the outcomes of integrated behavioral health in the demonstration project and notes challenges to sustainability. The Graham Center report […]