Gettysburg, Pa, Aug. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New guide on the U.S. behavioral health financing and delivery system featuring exclusive survey data from over 1,200 health plans
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. & Lundbeck and OPEN MINDS have released The 2019 Trends in Behavioral Health: A Population Health Manager’s Reference Guide on the U.S. Behavioral Health Financing & Delivery System, 2nd Edition (The Guide). In January of 2019, 1,265 health plans were surveyed to determine what practices were being utilized across the physical and behavioral health space. Responses were stratified across commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid health plans. The Guide compares the 2019 responses with data that was collected in 2017 for the 1st Edition of Trends in Behavioral Health (Inaugural Guide) to identify trends in health plan strategies, changes, and new initiatives.
Health plans that have read The Guide have given it credibility and are already using it within their organizations. An executive from Aetna said, “We use it primarily to assess our position in the market relative to the data reported – to determine if we are in the pack, leading, or behind. We also use it to understand and identify trends that can inform our direction and how we approach our products, services, and capabilities.”
Along with health plan practices, The Guide covers national and state market trends, key policy initiatives, health plan population management and innovation, and statistics on consumer access to behavioral health care. Additional topics included in the Second Edition of The Guide include value-based benefit plan design, social determinants of health interventions, management of long-term supports and services, trends in substance use disorder, and autism. Payer and provider reactions to legislation such as the 21st Century Cures Act, the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, and the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act are discussed at length. This exclusive health plan survey data and analysis provides payer and provider organizations throughout the behavioral health industry with key trends shaping the behavioral health system.
The Guide can be downloaded free of charge through PsychU at https://www.psychu.org/guide-second-edition. Come discover what strategies health plans are implementing, what areas they are focusing on in the coming year, and what are being prioritized as the most important issues of 2019.
About OPEN MINDS
OPEN MINDS is an award-winning information source, executive education provider, and business solutions firm specializing in the domains of health and human services serving consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs. For thirty years, we’ve been pioneers for change – helping organizations implement the transformational business practices they need to succeed in an evolving market with new reimbursement, competition, policies and regulations.
OPEN MINDS is powered by a national team of experienced executives and subject matter experts with specific expertise and experience in nine key market areas – mental health, addictions, chronic conditions, autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities, long-term care, children’s services, social services, juvenile justice, and corrections health care. Our mission is to improve the quality of care for consumers with complex support needs by improving the effectiveness of those serving them – provider organizations, payer and insurance organizations, government agencies, pharmaceutical organizations, and technology firms. Learn more at http://www.openminds.com.
About The Guide
The Second Edition of Trends in Behavioral Health: A Population Health Manager’s Reference Guide on the U.S. Behavioral Health Financing & Delivery System (The Guide) provides information and insights into the multi-layered United States behavioral health system. The Guide includes an in-depth view of current statistics, prevailing issues, and emerging trends in order to inform the discussions, debates and decision-making of policy-makers, payers, providers, advocates and consumers. The Guide addresses current behavioral health care trends topics, including:
• A look at the national policy that is shaping the U.S. health and human services market
• A view of the state behavioral health delivery systems that were created by a combination of historical practices, federal and state policy, and market factors over recent years
• An examination of the practices of 1,265 health plans that manage both physical and behavioral health care for the vast majority of the U.S. population
• A deep-dive into behavioral health care access and delivery of care from the consumer perspective