Indianapolis, Indiana, March 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BeMe, a digital behavioral health company, and CareSource, a nationally recognized nonprofit health plan, are announcing a new partnership to provide teens enrolled in Indiana’s Hoosier Healthwise coverage access to digital mental health support and interventions designed specifically to address teens’ unique needs.
CareSource provides health coverage to nearly 19,200 teens through Hoosier Healthwise, part of Indiana’s state Medicaid program. Through the BeMe and CareSource partnership, these individuals will have mobile access to mental health support including content, care activities and real-time one-on-one coaching, as well as clinical services and crisis support as needed.
“Teens today, more so than ever, are facing numerous pressures and obstacles that impact their mental and emotional health,” said Steve Smitherman, market president for CareSource Indiana. “Having a science-backed and teen-centric approach to support teens’ needs and build their skills to make them feel empowered to take on life’s challenges will be incredibly beneficial to our members and communities in Indiana.”
The state of teen mental health has been a public health crisis for more than a decade. A 2021 Surgeon General health advisory refers to teen mental health as an “urgent health issue,” and highlights a chilling statistic: One in three high school students and half of female students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019, an overall increase of 40% from 2009. What’s more, in 2021, 44% of U.S. high school students experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness. In Indiana, 46.7% of students in middle and high school reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for up to as long as two weeks in a row, leading them to stop performing some of their usual activities.
Indiana has been a leader in emphasizing the importance of teen mental health and privacy. With this new partnership, thousands of Indiana teens will have access to a first-of-its-kind mental health program. Through access to the BeMe platform, teens will have a fun, safe and familiar mobile modality that combines science-backed digital tools with live human connection for maximum support and impact.
“Innovative interventions are desperately needed to support teens’ mental health in Indiana and across the country,” said Nicoletta Tessler, CEO and co-founder of BeMe. “BeMe’s mobile mental health solution addresses these fundamental needs and is designed for a digital-first generation that is desperate for support. We are thrilled to partner with CareSource to bring this much-needed solution to thousands of Hoosier teens.”
BeMe is designed entirely in collaboration with teens as the platform is uniquely informed by an active Teen Advisory Board. This board is critical in shaping the experience and ensuring holistic relevancy for users. Since its January 2022 launch, BeMe has served over 90,000 teens across all 50 states who use the platform to tackle common mental health issues they’re facing. The platform has seen content engagement rates that are five times higher than other apps.
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About BeMe
BeMe Health is a digital behavioral health company that delivers mental health interventions designed specifically for teens. The BeMe app provides mobile access to content, care activities, real-time coaching, as well as clinical services and crisis support as needed. BeMe is designed entirely with teens in mind, meeting them where they are – on their phones – in a fun, safe, familiar mobile modality that combines science-backed digital tools with live human connection for maximum support and impact.
About CareSource
CareSource is a nonprofit, nationally recognized managed care organization with over 2.3 million members. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio since its founding in 1989, CareSource administers one of the largest Medicaid managed care plans in the U.S. The organization offers health insurance, including Medicaid, Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicare products. As a mission-driven organization, CareSource is transforming health care with innovative programs that address the social determinants of health, health equity, prevention and access to care.
For more, visit www.caresource.com, follow @caresource on Twitter, or like CareSource on Facebook.
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