Digital Behavioral Health Providers Poised to Deliver Coveted Outcomes Data, but Contracts Remain Customized

Payers and employers are moving away from a strictly fee-for-service model and looking for outcomes from behavioral health providers. As the transition to outcomes-based payment gains momentum, digital health providers might be well-positioned to partner with these entities because of their data-collecting capabilities. Behavioral health providers have traditionally lagged behind physical health providers when it […]

Inside Evernorth’s New Behavioral Health Group

Last week Cigna’s (NYSE:CI) health service division Evernorth furthered its reach into the mental health sector with the launch of a new behavioral health group. The hybrid behavioral health group, launched with over 1,000 clinicians, will focus on value-based and measurement-based care. Using virtual provider Octave’s technology suite, Evernorth plans to fully scale the service […]

Evernorth Establishes Behavioral Health Group, Emphasizing Value-Based Approach

Cigna’s (NYSE:CI) health service division Evernorth has launched a new behavioral health care group. Evernorth Behavioral Health Group will launch with over 1,000 clinicians and guarantee patients an appointment within 72 hours. According to Evernorth data, the industry average wait time is 48 days. “When I think about the impetus of the care group, it’s […]

Behavioral Health, Physical Health Coordination Top Priority for Cigna

Behavioral health and physical health integration continue to be a top focus for major payers nationwide. This morning, Cigna (NYSE:CI) hinted that coordinated care will continue to be an essential area for its health service division, Evernorth, in the future. “Behavioral care continues to be an area of focus, and there’s a meaningful opportunity for […]

Integrating Behavioral Health into Oncology Care Boosts Outcomes, Lowers Costs

A cancer diagnosis can profoundly affect a person’s life and impact their overall mental health. Roughly a third of all cancer patients also have a behavioral health issue, such as anxiety, depression, or a substance use disorder, according to research published in Translational Psychiatry. As a result, more payers and providers are looking for ways […]

Evernorth Behavioral Health CMO: ‘Measurement-Based Care Leads Directly to Conversations About VBC Contracts’

As part of one of the country’s largest ‘payvider’ organizations, Evernorth is positioned to help set the course for the future of integrated and measurement-based care in behavioral health. Evernorth is the health service division of large payer group Cigna (NYSE: CI). It offers a wide range of behavioral health and substance use disorder services. […]

Behavioral Health Payers and Providers Push Measurement-Based Care, But Clinicians Aren’t Buying In

There’s a big problem with measurement-based care in behavioral health that few are talking about: the fact that many clinicians are highly skeptical of payers. While most therapists use clinical assessments to care for patients, many are concerned about privacy and how health plans will use the data that’s shared with them. These attitudes come […]

‘It’s a Copout’: Why Payers Shouldn’t Say Value-Based Care in Autism Therapy Is Impossible

Value-based care in autism therapy doesn’t exist in a meaningful way. Several industry challenges create an urgent need for innovation in payment models. Stagnant fee-for-service rates and workforce pressures are at the forefront of those issues. Common value-based care challenges, like tracking and quantifying value, have also stymied many conversations. Yet, this type of innovation […]

Evernorth: Behavioral Health’s Impact on Physical Health Is ‘Something Plan Sponsors Cannot Ignore’

The majority of patients with behavioral health conditions also have one or more medical comorbidities. And this can drive up the cost of care for patients with a behavioral health diagnosis. That’s according to a new report by Cigna’s health service division, Evernorth. The report found that 22% of patients have a diagnosed behavioral health […]

Digital Point Solutions Positioned for Value-Based Contracting, But Payers, EAPs and Providers Lack Consensus

Digital point solutions could have an advantage in the move toward value-based behavioral health care contracting. Tech-backed behavioral health providers have a leg up in collecting data to prove outcomes, and their virtual front-door approach could also lend itself to preventative behavioral health services. But for value-based contracting to take off in this space, payers, […]