The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made behavioral health equity a strategic priority. In particular, the agency is focused on integrating behavioral health services into a community model. Earlier this month, it proposed a new ruling aimed at addressing workforce shortages and enhancing care coordination. The changes, if finalized, would also […]
Hospital outpatient departments may soon be able to bill Medicare for tele-behavioral health services offered to patients in their homes on a permanent basis. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday included this provision in the 2023 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule. The move is meant to ensure rural […]
Sixty-four percent of dual-eligible beneficiaries have a mental health diagnosis. In fact, dual-eligible beneficiaries are more likely to have a behavioral health diagnosis than Medicare-only beneficiaries. That’s according to a new ATI Advisory report, which zeros in on dual-eligible patients, or individuals who have both Medicare and Medicaid coverage. The report notes that dual-eligible beneficiaries […]
Medicaid network directories for mental health providers are often misleading and out of date. Many of these directories list “phantom” networks that do not actually accept Medicaid patients, though “may satisfy network adequacy requirements on paper but not in practice.” According to new Health Affairs research, 67.4% of mental health prescribers and 59% of mental […]
The rate of mental health services for children on Medicaid declined from the average pre-pandemic levels. In January, children under age 19 received about 23% fewer services for mental health. Children ages 15 to 18 saw substance use disorder (SUD) treatment rates drop by about 24% compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to a preliminary utilization […]
Health care stakeholders are focusing on access to behavioral health today – and outcomes for tomorrow. The shortage of behavioral health providers, coupled with the complexities of getting patients to the right level of care, has created a number of access hurdles for the behavioral health sector. This, in turn, has placed access as the […]
Government-backed health plans are a key part of Talkspace Inc. (Nasdaq: TALK)’s expansion strategy. Doug Braunstein, interim CEO of Talkspace, said those initiatives are in the earliest stages of development. But, its future growth clearly includes serving Medicaid, Medicare and Veterans Administration members. “We’ve literally just begun planning exercises for what are the most important […]
Circulo Health will lay off about a third of its workforce, effective immediately, as it narrows its strategic focus. Going forward, the Columbus, Ohio-based startup will be a tech-backed home- and community services (HCBS) provider, mothballing its Medicaid health plan business and its primary care clinic business. The health plan business was the company’s original concept. […]
CareBridge, a Nashville, Tennessee-based tech and telehealth startup, is tackling one of the hardest challenges in health care. And the moxie it takes to do so — and do so while taking on financial risk — has helped it woo investors to the tune of $180 million over two funding rounds. The latest funding round […]
Federal health care leader Chiquita Brooks-LaSure is encouraging digital health entrepreneurs to press state-level regulators to have Medicaid cover innovative behavioral health products and services. Speaking on Wednesday, Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), also said states need to take a broader view of how health care is delivered to […]
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