Blue Shield of CA Expands Access to Mental Healthcare Resources

Blue Shield of California has expanded access to mental healthcare resources by connecting members to an online platform that offers personalized well-being assessments and information.

The platform, CredibleMind, includes resources on more than 230 mental health topics and can direct members to evidence-based information and tools.

“An ecosystem of resources is helpful in improving mental health and emotional well-being, but it can be hard for people to know what is available and how to navigate what’s best for them,” Jennifer Christian Herman, PhD, vice president of MindBody Medicine/Behavioral Health at Blue Shield of California, said in the press release.

“Our goal in offering CredibleMind is to destigmatize mental health and make access to useful resources readily broadly available to all of our members.”

Blue Shield is offering access to three key mental healthcare resources through the online portal.

First, members can complete assessments on various mental illnesses and topics, including depression, anxiety, flourishing, sleep, social connections, burnout, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After finishing an assessment, the platform provides a score with recommended resources and steps members can take to address their outcomes.

The platform also includes topic centers, which cover over 230 mental health and well-being topics and offer resources for the topics displayed in list formats.

Lastly, Blue Shield members can access mental health resources in the form of podcasts, books, articles, and videos, increasing accessibility for all members regardless of their learning styles.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the mental health crisis and increased the demand for mental and behavioral healthcare.

Between July 2019 and July 2020, the number of mental health visits attributed to new patients grew by 27 percent, according to data from athenahealth. However, barriers to mental healthcare remain, as 42 percent of adults that wanted to see a mental health professional did not do.

In addition to the stigma surrounding mental healthcare, a lack of knowledge about where to access care or what type of care to seek out has prevented individuals from receiving mental health services. Given these difficulties, Blue Shield’s partnership with CredibleMind may help provide members with the information they need to pursue care.

Health plans can also boost mental healthcare access by increasing reimbursement rates and supporting behavioral healthcare training for primary care providers, according to AHIP.

Increasing reimbursement rates could help behavioral health providers attract high-quality workers, especially as the sector faces staffing shortages. As of June 2022, nearly 80 percent of health plans had boosted payment rates for behavioral healthcare workers, AHIP found.

Additionally, 72 percent of health plans supported behavioral healthcare training for primary care providers and assisted providers with finding behavioral healthcare specialist referral partners.