Data-Driven Approaches Improve Behavioral Health Equity, Aid Payer Negotiations

Racial and ethnic minority groups are 20% to 50% less likely to initiate mental health services and are 40% to 80% more likely to drop out of treatment prematurely.  Some behavioral health providers are seeking to improve these statistics by catering their services specifically to people of color, marginalized individuals and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. […]

Why Grassroots Behavioral Health Providers Are Falling Behind in VBC Conversations

Value-based care has become a buzzword in the behavioral health industry. Still, few providers have implemented it due to the laundry list of challenges, including parity issues, difficulties associated with determining a system of measurements and limitations to care access. For grassroots providers building relationships with payers from the ground up, even the meaning of […]

Maternal Mental Health Provider Seven Starling Lands $12.6M 

Digital mental health startup Seven Starling has raised $12.6 million in funding and is seeking an additional $1.7 million to complete the round, according to an SEC filing. New York City-based Seven Starling provides virtual mental health services to women on the parenthood journey. Its offerings include therapy, peer support and medication as needed. The […]

New Bill Would Mandate Free Mental, Substance Use Care for Perinatal People

Behavioral health-related issues, including suicide deaths and drug overdoses, are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S., accounting for over 22% of these losses. A new piece of legislation is on the table to help mitigate these statistics. The legislation, called “the Mental Health and Making Access More Affordable (MAMA) Act,” would require […]

[Updated] Mental Health Claims Increased 83% from 2019 to 2023

New research shows mental health insurance claims have continued to rise after the peak impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health claims soared by 83% from 2019 to 2023 and continued to rise post-pandemic, increasing 11% from 2022 to 2023, according to a report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The demand for virtual mental health services […]

The Collaborative Care Model Could Help Reduce the Total Cost of Patient Care

The collaborative care model (CoCM), which integrates physical and behavioral health services, may help reduce the total cost of patient care. That’s according to a new report from the Bowman Family Foundation, which zeroed in on research published by University of Washington (IMPACT) and the University of Pennsylvania/Independence Blue Cross (Penn/IBC) and Kaiser Permanente. “While […]

Cigna Upbeat on New Behavioral Unit Despite Falling Patient Numbers

Cigna (NYSE: CI) has continued to expand its behavioral health segment, and the investment is paying off. Evernorth, Cigna’s health service division, launched a new behavioral health group earlier this year focusing on measurement- and value-based care. According to Cigna’s CEO David Cordani, the new behavioral health group has already started to deliver positive results. […]

Headspace Expands D2C Services with Chat-Based Mental Health Coaching

Headspace is broadening its reach by offering its mental health coaching services, previously exclusive to its business-to-business segment, directly to individual consumers. Several digital health companies started in the direct-to-consumer space and have since focused their efforts on their B2B business. Now, Headspace is expanding in the opposite direction, taking its B2B coaching product and […]

Behavioral Health Services 3.5 Times More Likely to Be Out-of-Network than Physical Health Services

Despite federal parity laws, new research shows that behavioral health clinicians are reimbursed at rates 22% lower than medical and surgical clinicians. A new study from nonprofit research institute RTI International may provide behavioral health operators with the evidence to meet with payers to boost reimbursement rates and increase patients’ access to behavioral health services. […]

UnitedHealth Group Tight-Lipped on Behavioral Health Plans After Expanding Segment

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is keeping details about its behavioral health strategy close to the chest. The health care and insurance company highlighted that its behavioral health business was thriving just a few quarters ago in its Q2 2023 earnings call. Now, despite recently expanding its behavioral health segment, the company is highlighting other aspects […]