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Health Insurance Plans Actions Concerning Mental Health
Article
Health insurance plans are committed to working together to improve access to mental health and SUD care for every patient who needs it.
Published Apr 1, 2024 • by AHIP
AmeriHealth Caritas
- The Confess Project of America (TCPA), a national not-for-profit organization, and AmeriHealth Caritas Georgia, are teaming up to help combat mental illness in Georgia communities. As part of the collaboration, AmeriHealth Caritas is donating $25,000 to boost a TCPA mental health initiative. The organization’s support of TCPA will support program expansion in rural areas and provide mental health training programs for barbers to become mental health advocates in their communities.
- AmeriHealth Caritas offers mental health support through PerformCare. Services include Intellectual and Development Disability (I/DD), emergency interventions and screening, substance use treatment, suicide prevention, housing support, and family resources. The program offerings are focused on member recovery and resiliency and are family and community oriented.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire
- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire’s is working with Aspire365 to bring in a new in-home mental health program for Granite Staters 12 and older. Aspire365’s approach works through a multidisciplinary team to treat mental illnesses including psychotic disorders, mood disorders, anxiety, personality disorders, and neurocognitive disorders, and can also provide treatment for all types of substance use disorders as well as co-occurring disorders for individuals ages 12 and up. The team uses evidence-based treatment methods such as psychiatry, psychotherapy, in-home nursing, family and peer support, and group therapy, tailoring the treatment plan to the needs of the patient and their family.
- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire has InStride Health, a pediatric anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) treatment provider, to its provider network. InStride Health treats all severity levels for anxiety and OCD for children and young adults ages 7 to 22, with a focus on those with moderate to severe conditions where anxiety and/or OCD are interfering with functioning and causing additional problems (e.g., social isolation, school avoidance, physical symptoms, or depression).
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation
- The Anthem Foundation has committed $13 million in grants to promote equity in mental health, particularly for people with substance use disorders. Each program will focus on one of the following goals: prevention and early intervention of risk factors that lead to substance use disorders, improved access and quality of treatment to reduce morbidity and mortality of substance use disorders, and community support to promote lifelong recovery. These grants are part of up to $30 million the Foundation plans to invest over the next 3 years to make significant progress toward reducing substance use disorders and their health impacts.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Nevada
- Hope Means Nevada, a community-based nonprofit focused on eliminating youth suicide across Nevada, has announced the third annual launch of its #Ask5 to Smash Stress social media campaign. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Nevada is this year’s campaign sponsor and will jointly host the campaign between Sunday, April 2 and Saturday April 29, in recognition of National Stress Awareness Month. #Ask5 to Smash Stress is a peer-to-peer social media campaign that focuses on engaging teens to connect with their peers and raise awareness that could improve mental wellness and even save lives. Throughout the month, this campaign encourages teens to #Ask5 of their friends how they are doing and provide actionable techniques to foster mental health wellness.
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
- Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced that 75 schools in Arkansas have been selected to receive $2,500 each to create calming rooms to address the mental well-being of Arkansas students. Calming rooms give students a quiet place to reflect and refocus so they can perform their best when they return to the classroom.
- The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas has made $5.9 million in grants, aimed at addressing mental health challenges, suicide, and substance use among Arkansas children, teens, and young adults. The grants target three of the biggest areas of concern as identified by federal and state data — trauma, substance use and suicide.
- Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and its family of companies are making assistance available to members who were impacted by the recent severe storms in Arkansas, including activating a dedicated crisis line for members who may need emotional support. Members may call 24/7, toll free, and speak with a licensed clinical professional, at no cost to the member. This service will be active at least until April 17 and extended as needed.
- The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas, funded by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, announced that grants are being awarded in 2023 to public schools, universities, and nonprofit groups in Arkansas totaling $3.38 million. The grants focus on behavioral health, social barriers to health, health equity, maternal health, and innovation. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Little Rock, for example, is getting a $50,000 grant to fund a suicide prevention program in 5 school districts in Baxter, Crawford, and Garland counties, while the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership, Lake Village is getting $150,000 to provide mental health first aid training to Arkansas first responders and other healthcare workers, enabling them to provide additional resources to children and adults in the state. Other grants include $79,750 for Hispanic Community Services, Inc., Jonesboro, which will allow the organization to provide bilingual mental health services and education in Craighead, Crittenden, Green, Independence, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, and Randolph counties.
- Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield members have access to Lucet, which offers personalized mental health support. Lucet also offers members a number of apps to help with mindfulness and stress.
Avera Health Plans
- To respond to growing needs throughout its 72,000-square-mile footprint, Avera Health Plans opened a new four-story wing as part of its Avera Behavioral Health Hospital in Sioux Falls.
The Helmsley Behavioral Health Center adds 60,000 more square feet of space for treating psychiatric needs among children, youth, and adults. This wing adds several new services including 24/7 Behavioral Health Urgent Care, observation care, youth addiction care services, and partial hospitalization for youth.
The wing also will house Avera’s senior behavioral health unit, which is currently located on the Avera Prince of Peace campus. This will provide an opportunity to add to the continuity of mental health services while enhancing and expanding this program. In total, Avera Behavioral Health Hospital will have 146 inpatient behavioral health beds plus 8 addiction residential beds for adolescents – all private rooms.
AvMed
- In partnership with Optum, AvMed members have access to the Sanvello app, which provides support improve mental health. The app offers daily check-in and mood tracking, guided journeys, and coping tools. AvMed members also have access to more than 8,600 Florida-licensed clinicians for support, including psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health counselors.
Blue Shield of California
- Blue Shield of California's youth mental health initiative, BlueSky, has supported more than 2,000 youth with individual, group, and family counseling sessions over the last 5 years through a collaboration with Wellness Together. BlueSky and the California Department of Education have also worked together to train more than 5,500 educators and caring adults in Youth Mental Health First Aid over that timeframe.
- Blue Shield of California is joining the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) in supporting the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to combat the youth mental health crisis in the United States through trauma-informed approaches to behavioral health care. BCBSA and Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies nationwide are investing more than $10 million over 4 years, which will help Boys & Girls Clubs of America implement trauma-informed practices in its more than 5,000 Clubs by 2026 and train over 48,000 staff to better support the emotional and mental well-being of over 3.6 million children.
- Four Blue Shield of California clinicians recently shared their thoughts on the current state of mental health care, and where the future might lead. They discussed the need to remove the stigma around mental health, as well as the need for more mental health and addiction clinicians.
- BlueSky funds school-based programs with one-on-one therapy sessions for students most in need in Alameda and San Diego counties. Blue Shield of California launched the BlueSky initiative to support youth mental health throughout the state. BlueSky also partners with Wellness Together and its team of mental health specialists. This partnership helps maintain a robust schedule of online counseling sessions with youth, offering support to hundreds of students.
- Blue Shield of California members now have access to a new private and secure self-care online portal through CredibleMind. The CredibleMind platform offers personalized mental health and resilience, information, tools, and resources. The platform provides a one-stop source of more than 230 mental health topics and links members to science-based information and tools to improve mental well-being.
- Blue Shield of California’s BlueSky program has partnered with DoSomething.org, the online hub for youth-centered activism, to create the Vibe Check program. Vibe Check aims to open real conversations about mental health, steer teens toward reliable resources, and help them discuss challenges they or their friends may have. The program's centerpiece is the downloadable DoSomething Vibe Check Guide, which equips teens with the tools to have meaningful conversations about mental health with their peers and their communities. The guide includes tips for active listening, conversation starters, and resources.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation has awarded $100,000 to provide specialized substance use disorder treatment services to pregnant and/or postpartum women and their identified co-parenting partners and minor children. Michigan State University College of Human Medicine received $60,000 to support a study, to evaluate the Enhanced Parenting Program and participants of Enhanced Women’s Specialty Services at Flint and Saginaw Odyssey Village Houses to optimize residential and outpatient services. Flint Odyssey House received $40,000 to use results from the study to inform the expansion of services to pregnant and postpartum women at its Port Huron House.
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are expanding crisis services to the Medicare population for those in behavioral crises to receive prompt and appropriate health treatment. Combining crisis services with traditional behavioral health care creates a streamlined continuum of care, designed to effectively coordinate care over time. Facilitating individualized care enables providers to deliver the right care in the right setting at the right time with the goals of achieving short and long-term remission.
- Starting July 1, 2023, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network will offer a new behavioral health care navigation solution to help members find the provider best suited for their mental health or substance use needs more quickly and easily. The virtual care navigation solution will be available at no additional cost to in-state, fully-insured commercial, and Medicare Advantage members ages 18 or older through a partnership with Quartet Health, a behavioral health care technology and services company.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana
- Funding from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana and other contributors is helping provide mental health training for up to 45 Montana pediatricians and primary care providers annually for 3 years. So far, about 40 medical professionals have received training through the REACH Institute, a nonprofit that offers mental health courses for health care providers to help better treat and manage patients with behavioral health conditions. The group meets monthly to follow up and review cases, as well as provide feedback and encouragement. BCBSMT’s support for the behavioral health training program is part of its larger vision to create more medical and behavioral health access and better care management for members.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana awarded 4 nonprofits with a $70,000 Big Blue Sky Initiative major grant through the Healthy Kids, Healthy Families® program. All 4 grant recipients will use the funds to help improve pediatric behavioral health. In addition to the 4 grants, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana also made a $15,000 grant to NAMI Montana to bolster the organization’s mission to support, educate, and advocate for Montanans with mental illnesses and their families.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
- During Mental Health Awareness Month this May, Blue Cross NC continues its focus on education and providing resources that empower members to get the help they need when and where they want it, whether in-person or virtual care. Blue Cross NC Care Navigators can assist you in finding the right health care provider, while Blue Premier Behavioral Health Advanced with Mindoula provides virtual plus in-person care to help coordinate care for eligible members living with mental health, a substance use disorder or both. Teladoc Behavioral Health helps connects members with doctors over the phone or on video chat, and Headway offers access to in-network mental health providers across specialty, location, virtual or in-person care, personality, and race, language, and ethnicity. Members can choose a date and time and book a first appointment in as soon as 48 hours.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is expanding its network of behavioral health providers through a collaboration with Headway, a mental health care company that works with insurers to deliver high-value mental health care. Together the 2 companies will make it easier for Blue Cross NC members to quickly access – as soon as 48 hours – in-network therapists and psychiatrists who meet their specific needs. The focus of the collaboration is on improving access to care for underserved communities, including rural and socially vulnerable counties, children and adolescents, and individuals across diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is investing more than $2 million to support 11 organizations across North Carolina to improve access to behavioral health care services in rural and marginalized communities and in HPSAs (Health Professional Shortage Areas). This funding initiative is part of Blue Cross NC’s statewide commitment aimed at addressing and eliminating racial, health, and geographical disparities in North Carolina and supports the company’s goal to improve access to behavioral health care in rural and underserved communities by 25% in 5 years.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma has made a grant to the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Oklahoma to support mental health efforts focused on young children. The grant will support the "Meet Little Monster" coloring and mental health activity book created for young children to express and explore their feelings as well as to help foster dialogue between children and the safe adults in their lives. The book is available in English and Spanish for families, organizations, teachers, and young people across Oklahoma at no cost.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
- A $25,000 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue Impact℠ grant has helped the Rural Telepsych for Youth program reduce barriers to mental health care for young people in rural areas, including lack of money, transportation, and providers. The grant also is supporting expanded capacity for autism spectrum disorders in children and teens, which requires a specific psychological evaluation to qualify for services. The Rural Telepsych for Youth program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso’s Department of Psychiatry offers telepsychiatry sessions to residents of 15 West Texas counties. It supplements two state programs that provide limited services, offering children who need additional mental health treatment up to 12 additional telepsychiatry sessions. The program has provided care for about 100 patients through an estimated 1,000 visits.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas members now have access to nearly 4,000 in-network behavioral health providers through Headway and are able to receive care 2 to 3 times faster than average. For BCBSTX members that live out of state, there are more than 21,000 high-quality credentialed behavioral health providers now in-network across 26 states practice as a part of the Headway network, with 42% of providers identifying as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or multiracial and more than 80 languages spoken. BCBSTX also supports initiatives to improve mental health for members and people in the communities it serves by:
- supporting local non-profits through BCBSTX Blue Impact ® grants. In the 2022-2023 grant cycle, BCBSTX gave more than $820,000 to 21 non-profits across Texas to tackle gaps in behavioral health care.
- launching BCBSTX's 13th outdoor fitness courts this month. Through a partnership with the National Fitness Campaign, BCBSTX helps fund sites that provide a free, full-body workout in only 7 minutes using your own body weight in local communities across Texas. BCBSTX leaders are committed to building nearly 40 total outdoor fitness courts in the next few years to improve overall mental and physical health and well-being for all Texans.
- supporting local non-profits through BCBSTX Blue Impact ® grants. In the 2022-2023 grant cycle, BCBSTX gave more than $820,000 to 21 non-profits across Texas to tackle gaps in behavioral health care.
CalOptima
- CalOptima Health has formed a partnership with National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Orange County to launch a peer support program for Medi-Cal members recently discharged from a psychiatric inpatient hospital stay or emergency room visit. As part of the $5 million grant program, NAMI Orange County will pair trained peer mentors with CalOptima Health members to provide social support and assistance with navigating mental health resources. The program will work with providers and begin during the hospital stay or emergency room visit and last up to 6 months post-discharge, based on members’ needs. Peer support mentors will help members schedule and attend follow-up care with their providers, build a social support network, and access training and other supportive services.
- The CalOptima Board of Directors has authorized a grant agreement of up to $1 million to support the Be Well Orange Campus, a mental health and substance use treatment facility in Orange. The grant will enhance intake and admissions coordination services for CalOptima Medi-Cal members who need behavioral health services. The two-year grant will ensure CalOptima members have timely access to services, assessment and placement into care through an improved intake and coordination process at the Be Well Orange Campus. The cost of coordination includes staffing, training and development, administrative services, and a phone system upgrade.
Cambia Health Foundation
- Cambia Health Foundation is investing $400,000 to improve health outcomes for pregnant people, new parents, and young children. Cambia's grant partners are working to reduce maternal health disparities, increase behavioral health access, or a combination of both. Examples of projects funded with these grants include full integration of behavioral and emotional health for children and their families, early intervention, and increasing the percentage of behavioral health providers who identify with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan
- Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan offers members access to 4 virtual mental health care providers. Brave Health is for adults and adolescents 16 and older who live in New York state, and specializes in therapy groups, including Dialectical behavior therapy. Doctors on Demand is available to adults and children living anywhere in the U.S., while Valera is available to adults and children 6 and over living in the U.S. The final option, aptihealth, is available to adults and children 5 and older living in New York state.
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
- CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and Navigator Healthcare, Inc., an independent healthcare service for those affected by drug and alcohol use, have announced a partnership to improve access for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for CareFirst members and their families. Through the partnership with Navigator, CareFirst Members seeking evaluation and treatment for SUD have access to 24/7/365 support by calling the mental health and substance use phone number on the back of their insurance card. The number connects each individual with a licensed behavioral health clinician with expertise in SUD who helps them understand treatment options and schedules an evaluation on demand in a same-day or next-day timeframe.
- CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield is collaborating with Headway, a tech-enabled company that expands access to in-network mental health care by removing barriers faced by providers, payers, and the people they serve, to support CareFirst’s mental healthcare system. The collaboration will help eliminate obstacles to providing and accessing behavioral health while delivering quality, easy-to-access mental health care for all members. Headway’s secure online platform is available to CareFirst’s network of mental health providers at no cost and will enable efficient scheduling, billing and more. This allows providers to focus on quality care delivery, rather than administrative tasks.
CareOregon
- CareOregon awarded $295,000 in community grants to 13 nonprofit organizations across the Portland metropolitan region that fill critical gaps in social health, including mental health, housing, food access, climate and utilities support, and more. Among the grants awarded, CareOregon is investing $25,000 in Utopia PDX to provide culturally specific mental health support to queer and trans Pacific Islander youth.
- Portland-based non-profit Bridges to Change has launched a new peer-led housing facility and program—the Tri-County Women’s Stabilization House—to provide crisis stabilization supports for those experiencing cooccurring mental health symptoms and substance use needs. Funds for the program were provided by CareOregon. The $637,000 grant is helping cover staffing, operation and facility related costs. The program aims to support individuals engaging in mental health or substance use treatment services through times of transition, such as between housing situations or levels of care, while helping them engage in healthcare services that encourage and sustain their recovery.
- CareOregon has provided Lutheran Community Services Northwest with a $79,867 grant to help make more culturally specific mental health resources available to newly arriving and already resettled Ukrainian refugees in the region. The funds from the grant will be used to hire 1 additional full-time peer support specialist and 1 Ukrainian speaking clinician that will support the increasing demand for care. The grant will also help fund additional support for the broader Ukrainian community. The peer support specialist will provide timely support to Ukrainian refugees to help address mental health and trauma and connect clients to the appropriate services and resources. Services include individualized psychological first aid such as mental health counseling, emotional support groups, workshops to aid in resettlement and referrals for any additional needs like wellness exams, immunizations, housing, employment and more.
CareSource
- CareSource has announced a partnership with LunaJoy Health, a leader in the women's mental health space. The partnership will leverage LunaJoy Health's experience in perinatal mood disorders and innovative care model. The model utilizes a team of perinatal mental health experts and telehealth to deliver effective and convenient care to high-risk mothers covered by Medicaid in Georgia.
- CareSource has announced a collaboration with CKF Addiction Treatment to enhance access to critical substance use disorder treatment services in Central Kansas. This collaboration, which includes a $200,000 donation from CareSource, is geared towards providing comprehensive, accessible services to Kansans struggling with substance use disorders.
- CareSource has donated $25,000 to support the Kansas ABLE Savings Program. This donation bolsters the Kansas State Treasurer’s Office’s efforts to improve awareness of ABLE's resources for those in the intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) community impacted by the IDD waitlist in Kansas. CareSource’s contribution provides a financial incentive to an individual with disabilities, serving as a catalyst for the establishment and active engagement of an ABLE account.
- CareSource announced a $1.5 million partnership with CarePortal, a digital platform that connects local government agencies, schools, pregnancy centers, and more with churches, businesses and individuals who are willing to help meet the needs of vulnerable children and their families. As a result of this partnership, more organizations will be able to access and use CarePortal to unite their efforts and consolidate resources that are needed to generate healthy outcomes for vulnerable children and families, in real-time.
- The Ohio Behavioral Healthcare Provider Network has awarded their first-ever Innovation Award to CareSource. The Innovation Award is provided to a single outstanding partner that innovates to better serve people with severe mental illness.
Centene
- Centene has launched an all-employee training on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity to educate employees on parity law and outline Centene’s policies that ensure delivery of benefits that do not discriminate against individuals with mental health conditions or substance use disorders. Centene also maintains youth and adolescent programs focused on mental health, including the Choose Tomorrow™ Suicide Prevention Program, which uses evidence-based practices to screen for suicide risk, develop member-driven safety planning, provide connection to community resources, and monitor members’ treatment progress to prevent suicide.
CVS Health
- CVS Health recently awarded a $100,000 grant over two years to support the Phoenix Indian Center’s efforts to fund its Suicide-Safer Communities project, which will expand its suicide prevention services for Native Americans living in Phoenix.
- CVS Health offers personalized mental well-being support through Resources for Living. Resources for Living counselors provide members with confidential, free in-the-moment support 24/7. For continued support, Resources for Living connects members with in-person and virtual providers, including therapists, coaches and other services to improve mental well-being. Resources for Living has also created Here4U, a series of online peer support groups focused on social connectedness.
- CVS Health, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority , Beacon 360 Management, elected officials, and community leaders have announced the opening of Harriet’s Hope – a 52-unit, multifamily supportive housing community – empowering survivors of human trafficking. Columbus-based co-developer and nonprofit Beacon 360º Management initiated the program design and will be responsible for the management and coordination of supportive services provided at Harriet’s Hope. Services will be tailored to the unique needs of trafficking survivors, and supports each resident’s immediate and long-term goals – in addition to job-skills training and employment opportunities. This includes comprehensive, trauma-informed case management services provided by The Salvation Army, where professionals collaborate with residents to create crisis stabilization and safety plans.
- CVS Health Foundation awarded $3 million in grants over 5 years to advance mental health equity to Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County in Florida, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute in Texas, and the Rosecrance Foundation in Chicago. Each grant is focused on simplifying the process of accessing mental health care, expanding the mental health workforce, as well as training and advocating the importance of personalizing treatment to align with the patient’s cultural values.
- As part of its ongoing commitment to mental health and well-being, CVS Health continues to focus on reducing suicide attempts among Aetna members. Despite the increasing national trends, Aetna has seen a 16% reduction in suicide attempts among Aetna adult Commercial members when compared with a 2019 baseline. Aetna member youth (13–17-year-olds) attempts remain above the 2019 baseline. However, since Aetna launched dedicated youth programming in 2021, attempts are trending downward with a 13% reduction when comparing 2022 with 2021. Aetna has seen a 13.7% reduction in suicide attempts among its Medicare Advantage members compared to 2019.
- CVS Health announced it is enhancing Project Health, the company's free, community-based health screening program by adding mental health screenings to its services and entering 2 new areas: Greensboro, NC and Petersburg, VA. Project Health will also add nearly 100 organizations this year to host its mobile units in additional under-resourced communities. CVS Health plans to host nearly 2,000 Project Health screening events across the U.S. in 2023. The company hosts these events at CVS Pharmacy locations and community organizations, offering free biometric screenings including blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose level and body mass index to detect early risks of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. The screenings will now also offer PHQ-2 assessments, screenings to help identify people who require additional evaluation for depression. Following these screenings, participants have the opportunity to meet with a nurse practitioner who can provide referrals for treatment and advice on follow-up care.
- To help alleviate the stress people face when considering mental health treatment and improve access to convenient care, more than 1,100 MinuteClinic locations across the U.S. offer depression screenings. And select MinuteClinic® locations offer in-person and virtual mental health services, including cognitive behavioral therapy.
- MinuteClinic®, the medical clinic located inside select CVS Pharmacy stores, has announced it has launched mental health counseling and care services at 6 MinuteClinic locations in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Through these expanded MinuteClinic services, individuals can receive mental health assessments, referrals, counseling, and personalized care plans in-person or via virtual care, with appointments available days, evenings, and weekends.
- CVS Health has launched CVS Health® Virtual Primary Care, a new virtual care offering that provides primary care, 24/7 on-demand care, and scheduled mental health services. If in-person follow-up care is needed, a patient can seek care at any in-network provider, including MinuteClinic. To deliver on-demand and mental health services, a dedicated practice of board-certified physicians and nurse practitioners is supplemented by MinuteClinic providers consisting of nurse practitioners and licensed clinical social workers. In addition, members seeking mental health services will have the ability to consult with psychiatrists.
Sutter Health Plus
- Sutter Health Plus members ages 13 years and older have access to AbleTo featuring confidential, self-paced support for emotional, behavioral and mental wellness — available 24/7 via online or mobile app at no extra cost. AbleTo provides personalized, on-demand content and self-care techniques and coping tools designed to help members understand their emotional state, manage life’s stressors and boost well-being.
- Sutter Health Plus members have premium access to Sanvello at no extra cost as part of their behavioral health care benefits through U.S. Behavioral Health Plan, California. Sanvello is an app that offers on-demand clinically proven techniques to manage symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression as they happen. By answering a few questions in the Sanvello app throughout the week to assess mood and track activities like caffeine intake, sleep, and exercise, members can identify patterns in their behavior to make positive lifestyle changes. They can also create progress assessments using past mood and health ratings to discover new connections between their experiences and emotions.
UCare
- The UCare Foundation is improving health outcomes, resources, and mental health services for new mothers across the state through grants to nine community organizations serving diverse populations in urban and rural regions of the state. Individual grants range from $50,000 to $100,000.
- The UCare Foundation has awarded more than $400,000 in grants to initiatives addressing mental health, infant health, and dental care. A significant number of the Foundation grants are directed to improve access to mental health services for young people, including neurodiverse, LGBTQIA+, and youth with complex needs.
- Leaders at UCare and Kente Circle are seeking make it okay to discuss mental health issues with trusted barbers and stylists. The Confess Project – America’s First Mental Health Barbershop Movement – empowers frontline heroes to support their clients’ mental health and substance use disorder needs. The barbershop or hair salon is often a safe place for clients to discuss their concerns and needs. Armed with the Confess Project training, barbers and stylists will be able to say: “I am more than a pair of clippers. I am improving my community through the barber chair one client at a time.”
UPMC Health Plan
- UPMC Health Plan’s Special Needs Plan Severely Mentally Ill team provides community-based care management services to members with a serious mental illness diagnosis. The team services those with the highest needs of physical health and behavioral health indicators as identified by physical, behavioral and pharmacy claims utilization data in a rolling 12-month period. Goals of the program include: care integration for member physical health and behavioral health conditions, development of self-management skills and improved quality of life. Outcomes include improved HEDIS measures, as well as reductions in Emergency Department visits and inpatient admissions. UPMC’s Community Care Behavioral Health Organization, part of the UPMC Insurances Division, is also working with stylists and barbers to develop an innovative community engagement initiative known as Health Access Initiative for Recovery (Our HAIR). This initiative centers on partnering with barbers and stylists in Pittsburgh to build up black and brown communities through increasing familiarity with, comfort around and connection to resources related to behavioral health concerns seen within hair care settings. In the Our Hair initiative, hair stylists/barbers will have an opportunity to participate in a program that teaches them how to talk about and provide resources for mental health and drug/alcohol/substance use concerns within their communities. The goal is to increase engagement, education, and resource dissemination about behavioral health issues within historically underserved communities and to decrease the behavioral health care disparities between Black and White members.
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