The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) Foundation (http://bluecrossfoundation.org) supports the integration of behavioral health and primary care. Their goal is to determine what is needed to develop and implement an effective integrated program.
Although many practices in the state do offer integrated care models, most agree that more can be done. For example, there are no standardized models for measures of success, many people with behavioral health needs still experience access challenges, licensure and regulatory issues create obstacles, and that patients with co-morbid behavioral and medical disorders are vulnerable, challenging, and are costly to treat.
As a result of these challenges the Foundation is going to provide funding for one year for initiatives based in Massachusetts. The funding will be used to support integration programs related to behavioral health and primary care in terms of exploration, assessment, and documentation to help facilitate opportunities for change. The programs receiving the funds must also be willing to participate in an in-depth assessment of their experiences, document successes, obstacles, best practices, and describe areas for improvement.
Organizations may request up to $150,000 for one year of planning, analysis, and documentation. The grant period will run from December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2015.
The Foundation separately from this grant funding provide the resources so that data can be compiled from the grantee organizations and develop a series of case studies on promising integrated care examples.