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Behavioral Health Medical Homes: An Approach to Integrated Care
At first I was scared. I started skipping my appointments with my therapist and also Dr. Levy. I did not want to deal with it. But then my therapist and the doctor called me at home. They told me I was not alone, and they wanted to help me. That made all the difference. I came in. The doctor took...
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The Vital Role of Behavioral Health: Driving Better Health Outcomes by Integrating Services
Behavioral and physical healthcare in New York State are going through an unprecedented transformation. Medicaid redesign, implementation of a health benefit exchange, a transition from fee-for-service to managed behavioral healthcare, integration of behavioral health with primary healthcare,...
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The Challenges of Integrated Health Care
One of the most talked about issues in both the behavioral health and medical field is the integration of behavioral and physical health services. In fact, SAMHSA has reworked their definition of recovery to include physical health: A process through which individuals improve their health and...
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Crucial Time for Change: NYS’s Behavioral Health Care Transformation
New York State’s behavioral health care transformation is the most significant shift in mental health policy since deinstitutionalization over a half a century ago. Despite improvements that emerged as a result of the shift from an institutional to community-based system of care, significant...
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Preparing for Managed Care: Staff Credentialing, Evidence-Based Practices, and Fiscal Systems
For decades, behavioral health (BH) professionals have fought for the right to have mental health (MH) and substance use disorders (SUD) regulated in a similar manner as medical/surgical conditions. First the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 and more recently the 2012...
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Positioning for the New York State Managed Care Transition
Preparing your leadership and line staff for the “managed care transition,” can seem daunting and perplexing. There is no simple formula that applies to providers in general, or certain types of providers, except in the broadest sense. Rather, it involves a critical assessment of strengths,...
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Practical Tips to Working with Managed Care
With the changes to managed Medicaid, it is important for therapists to be ready to advocate for their clients and for the care they deserve. After over sixteen years of dealing with managed care, there are certain tips that might be helpful if you are new to the process of calling companies. Often...
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From Transition to Transformation
The New York State behavioral health system’s evolution toward greater care integration and accountability and a focus on recovery will include larger roles for managed care organizations in developing and managing systems of care, expanded care coordination and case management services, and new...
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Collaborative Care: An Integral Part of Psychiatry’s Future
In 1974 the music critic Jonathan Landau penned a classic article in which he stated, “I have seen the future of rock and roll, and its name is Bruce Springsteen.” Landau was commenting on his impression of the debut album of the then-fledgling rock star. If you will permit my imaginative...
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Perspectives on the Transition to Managed Care
The year 2014 will provide opportunities for OASAS and the other behavioral health agencies in New York as we prepare for the transition to Medicaid Managed Care beginning in 2015. The goal of this change is to create a system that provides New Yorkers with fully integrated behavioral health...
