Study Identifies Reimbursement Models As Major Impediment To Integrated Behavioral Health & Primary Care

Financing is a major barrier to integrating behavioral health and primary care because behavioral health has historically been treated as a separate benefit with a separate payment. Two financing strategies could be used to reduce the barriers to integrated service delivery — a per member per month (PMPM) fee for behavioral health in primary care or a primary care population-based payment (PBP) that includes behavioral health.

This was the finding of an initiative of the Eugene S. Farley, Jr. Health Policy Center, at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The initiative recommendations were presented in “Creating a Culture of . . .