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Transforming Behavioral Health Systems of Care to Improve Outcomes and Promote Value
Many state and county Medicaid programs are considering the implementation of managed care models in their behavioral health care systems in order to ensure consistent quality outcomes for their residents with a mental health condition or substance use disorder. As a national leader in managed...
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Youth in Transition
This article is the third in a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The young authors of this column came together as a focus group of peers to discuss their experiences and collaborate on this...
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From the Publisher’s Desk “The Handshake of Hope”
With the holiday’s only a month or so away, I recall a true story I wrote about several years ago in this publication. It began with, “Let me tell you a story about a simple handshake that saved the life of a man from New York suffering with mental illness.” The year was 1987 and he was 38...
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It Takes a Village
When we hear the phrase “It takes a village to raise a child,” we think of the African apologue, or maybe Hillary Clinton’s book about larger societal responsibilities. But in the children’s behavioral health system, it is also true. Throughout the history of this system, there has been a...
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Behavioral Health, the LGBTQ Community, and Managed Care
A wise man once said that at times of sweeping transformation, “all that is solid melts into air.” As the delivery system responds to changes driven by the transition to Medicaid managed care and, ultimately, value-based payment, many are concerned about meeting the needs of historically...
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Substance Use Disorder and the LGBTQ Youth Community
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared with the general population, gay and bisexual men, lesbian and transgender individuals have higher rates of substance abuse, are more likely to use alcohol and drugs and to continue heavy drinking into later life...
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Maintaining Recovery as a Central Focus of Substance Use Disorder Services
For years, the health care system treated addiction as an acute condition: an individual battling addiction would be diagnosed, treated, guided to support and then left to their own devices on whether to succeed, or fail, in recovery. The good news is: for New York State, that is no longer the...
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Adapting to System Reform
This article is the first in a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The authors of this column facilitated a focus group of their peers to inform this writing. The authors are served by SUS...
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Building a Quality Behavioral Health Workforce: Employing Service-User Perspectives Throughout Your Organization
With the introduction of Managed Behavioral Health Care in October of 2015 and the soon to be implemented Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), engagement of “peers” in the workforce has become a topic of considerable interest. HCBS introduces peer support as a Medicaid billable service...
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Coming to Grips with Substance Use Issues Among Employees’ Young Adult Dependents
The impact of substance use and mental illness on the workplace has been well documented. But how well do employers grasp what’s at stake when faced with employees whose adult dependents are grappling with a mental health or substance use issue? These employers are confronted with two...
