Payer Sees Significant Mental Healthcare Utilization, Network Size Growth

Mental healthcare services utilization and network size have grown significantly since 2019 among Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (“Blue Cross”) members, according to data from Blue Cross.

Mental healthcare services utilization grew by 100 percent in the timeframe that Blue Cross examined. At the same time, Blue Cross’s mental healthcare network grew by 46 percent.

“As the need for mental health services continues to grow, access to convenient and affordable care is critical,” said Andrew Dreyfus, president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross. “By expanding and diversifying our mental health network, we're ensuring that our members are able to find and receive the high-quality care they need, when they need it.”

The mental healthcare provider network swelled to a total of 18,000 clinicians. With the growth in utilization, Blue Cross plans to expand its network further. The payer will do this by working with national mental healthcare provider groups as well as expanding its virtual care mental health groups in 2023.

In early 2022, Blue Cross introduced partnerships with four in-person and virtual mental healthcare services providers.

At the end of November 2022, Blue Cross announced that it initiated three more partnerships that would further extend its mental healthcare network.

The payer announced that it would add a national primary mental healthcare telehealth provider to its network to offer access to care through a variety of options. The telehealth provider offers therapy and medication management.

Additionally, the payer will pursue a targeted approach to mental healthcare by adding two specialty mental health provider organizations. One of the organizations seeks to offer culturally affirming mental healthcare. The other focuses on supporting members with substance abuse care needs.

Blue Cross also shared that the health plan’s reimbursement for telehealth and virtual care services is at parity with in-person services. Receiving reimbursement at parity is not only a controversial issue for telehealth providers but also for mental and behavioral healthcare providers, who do not always receive reimbursement at parity with physical care providers.

“It's not enough to simply expand our network with more clinicians,” said Greg Harris, MD, a psychiatrist and senior medical director for mental health at Blue Cross.

“We want to ensure we have the right clinicians to treat members' specific needs – and that includes specialized treatment and approaches. When it comes to mental health treatment, one size does not fit all. We're committed to building a network of practitioners to serve a diverse array of needs for children, adolescents and adults.”

Going forward, the payer revealed plans to partner with groups that serve members with severe eating disorders and autism.