Health Insurance Providers Push for Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health

AHIP, an association whose members include the nation’s largest health insurance providers, recently added its voice to the call for greater integration of physical and behavioral health with an Issue Brief titled: Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care.

Integration Will ‘Reduce Stigmas and Disparities in Care’

The Issue Brief noted: “Behavioral health integration promotes timely access to whole person care. And, in removing the traditional silos between medical and behavioral care, integration can help reduce the stigma and disparities in care that often present challenges to equitable access to quality behavioral health care.”

Three Approaches to Integrating Behavioral and Physical Care

The AHIP Brief addressed a number of approaches health insurance providers are using to further the integration of physical and behavioral health, including:

The Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)

A patient-centered care management model for integrating behavioral health care with primary care, with many behavioral health integration services reimbursed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Value-Based Models

Value-based purchasing (VBP) and alternative payment model (APM), which provide financial incentives for coordination of care and improved client outcomes.

Integrated Care Management

An approach that utilizes care managers to integrate care provided by an array of providers to support individuals with chronic conditions, with a special focus on care for behavioral health conditions.

The AHIP Brief noted that, in addition to these approaches, health insurance providers are also working to “reduce stigma and isolation, encourage collaborations with providers, expand provider networks, and proactively identify behavioral health needs for members.”

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