Medicaid reimbursement rates are largely trending upward for autism therapy providers, but burdensome regulations still pose significant hurdles to growth. To overcome these challenges and improve rates, all players in the autism therapy industry, including private equity firms, must become involved in advocacy work, industry insiders said at the Behavioral Health Business Autism & Addiction […]
Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) is looking to get its behavioral health margins back to pre-COVID times. Reductions in labor costs, enhanced productivity and a bump in patient volume are among the factors that will support that goal, according to Steve Filton, the company’s chief financial officer. “We had originally set a target for [2024] […]
Fee-for-service reimbursement models incentivize behavioral health providers to deliver more services – in some instances, even when medically unnecessary, some would point out. Value-based care – paying for quality and outcomes instead of volume – has been heralded as the behavioral health industry’s path away from fee-for-service models. Challenges, including tension between health plans and […]
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is becoming a more viable option for the treatment of depression in youth and adults, providing hope for those with treatment-resistant depression. Of the roughly 22 million American adults who experienced a major depressive episode in 2023, about 30% have treatment-resistant depression, meaning that multiple medications have failed to alleviate their […]
Many behavioral health providers have traditionally operated in silos, leaving patients to navigate a fragmented system of care for substance use disorders (SUDs), mental illnesses and other co-occurring conditions. SUD providers are now working to break down these barriers and offer more comprehensive, holistic treatments that address the full spectrum of a patient’s needs by […]
Ghost networks remain a major problem in health care – and behavioral health is no exception. Broadly, ghost networks create barriers for individuals trying to access behavioral health services through their payer. There are many reasons why ghost networks exist, with payers and providers both contributing to the problem. In this BHB+ TALKS conversation, senior […]
Nonprofit health plan Point32Health has instituted a new care navigation program to meet unprecedented behavioral health demands. As part of the program, Point32Health has created a new employee role specifically designed to connect members to behavioral health care. This allows the payer and its provider network to foster a “symbiotic relationship.” “The missing piece that […]
More Americans died by suicide in 2022 than any other year on record in the United States. Still, significant barriers to care, including lack of insurance and clinician shortages, have kept many Americans from accessing much-needed behavioral health care, according to a new report from Mental Health America (MHA) based on federal data from 2022. […]
Providers have increasingly integrated behavioral health care into primary care to improve patient outcomes and decrease the likelihood of costly, acute health events. Federal health plans have jumped on board with integration efforts, paving the way for more collaborative care models. But government plans have unevenly adopted value-based care, which is often associated with integrated […]
Nearly one in every 12 Americans owes medical debt, totaling at least $220 billion nationwide. This debt may be actively worsening the mental health care gap. Adults with depression or anxiety are more likely to carry medical debt, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Approximately one in four to one in five of […]
