Blue Cross Blue Shield to improve mental health access
Photo | Courtesy of Blue Cross Blue Shield
The Boston offices of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's largest health insurer, has instituted a series of new initiatives to help members better access mental health care, including expanding the number of child psychiatrists available to members, adding telehealth options and giving greater access to an online program to manage anxiety and stress.
The Boston-based insurer, with 2.8 million members, said it will increase reimbursement rates by 50% to child psychiatrists who participate in its new incentive program. It has also added 2,000 new clinicians to its mental health network in the last few years, offering financial incentives for primary care physicians to integrate mental health care into their practices, and reimbursing telehealth sessions performed by mental health specialists at the same rate as in-person visits beyond special rates put in place temporarily during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We know that far too many of our members — both children and adults — are not getting the mental health care they deserve,” Andrew Dreyfus, Blue Cross’ president and CEO, said in a statement. “Taken together, we believe these initiatives will help address a critical need at a time when access to high quality mental health services has never been more important.”
Surveys have shown increased anxiety related to the pandemic, at least early on in the spread of the virus.
An American Psychiatric Association poll in late March found 36% said the pandemic has a major effect on their mental health. About one in four said they had difficulty concentrating on other things because of the pandemic. A mid-July poll by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 35.6% of adults to report symptoms of anxiety, up from 30.8% in late April and early May.
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