More than 25 years after the first federal mental health parity protections were put in place, adequate coverage for behavioral health (BH) care, including both mental health and substance use conditions, remains elusive for many consumers with health insurance.
Children 16 years old and younger and young adults between 17 and 24 years who are leaving a public system of care such as foster care or a residential behavioral health facility are at increased risk of becoming homeless.
Population trend data outlines the behavioral health challenges and changes occurring throughout the United States. For payers, understanding the movement of population segments help estimate coverage patterns and potential for claims submissions. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) released an annual survey of the population of the United States ages 12 years or older. The main First Findings Report contains a cross-section of NSDUH data on substance use and substance use disorders, mental health issues among adults and adolescents, and co-occurring disorders.
Behavioral health documentation is often the communication tool used by and between professionals. Records not properly documented with all relevant and important facts can prevent the next practitioner from furnishing sufficient services. The outcome can cause unintended complications.
Behavioral healthcare cuts both ways for payers and providers. Shortages of qualified expertise makes filling positions difficult to impossible, while the need for services grows on many fronts and in many populations. The Daily Briefing How 2 health systems are rethinking mental health care for a value-based world, from the Advisory Board, reinforces the connections between behavioral and physical health. This identifies tangible targets, like reducing behavioral health readmissions, for improving patient care and institutional financial health.
Payers and providers spend significant energy recruiting and retaining all levels of behavioral health professionals. The access to psychiatrists acts as the 'canary in a coal mine' signalling the impending challenges. Lacking mental health expertise hits organizations at a time of increasing use spurred on by value-based care.
Massachusetts bill (H 1070/S 1093) adds to the definition of “medically necessary services” and challenges the notion of who decides medical necessity. Medical necessity criteria sits at the center of case and claim determinations. Laws, policies, and procedures evolve through time and the various administrations both locally and nationally.
Today we are sharing an great infographic from TopCounselingSchools.org. This infographic will delve into the mental health issues that many young people face in our society. May is Mental Health Month, so help spread the word!
The number associated with mental illness in the Unites States are staggering, mind-boggling. The supply and demand for mental health services is completely off kilter. As we are aware, there is a national shortage of physicians, and an even shorter supply of psychiatrists. The need for mental health diagnosis and treatment is soaring, in part due to Medicaid expansion and in part due to the stigma which has been associated with mental health diminishing somewhat.
Government mandated essential healthcare benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) heralds a time when consumers can look to their insurer to deliver improved health outcomes as part of their consumer contract. In many instances, such as maternity benefits and screenings, the law simply codifies benefits that have long been in place under many health insurance plans. And, it makes sense too, since pre-natal care and screenings help us to reduce rates of infant mortality and pre-empt potentially life-threatening diseases – such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.