A new study commissioned by Shatterproof and The Bowman Family Foundation found that use of the Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model (CoCM)—a low-cost method of integrating mental health treatment into primary care—has expanded rapidly at a national level, though enormous disparities persist among states. From 2018 to 2024, the national rate of CoCM use for commercial patients grew 26-fold, from 12 patients per 100,000 patients with a mental health and substance use diagnosis to 317 per 100,000.
State adoption varies dramatically. Arizona, Wisconsin, and Utah each reported over 1,000 CoCM patients per 100,000, while many states had fewer than 50—including Louisiana, Rhode Island, and Indiana. Some states had almost no CoCM patients. Trends for Medicaid and Medicare patients followed similar patterns, with high-use states performing well across all insurance types.
Evidence of Effectiveness
Research consistently demonstrates CoCM’s value. Four studies involving Kaiser Permanente, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and Independence Blue Cross showed reductions in total healthcare costs within six months and sustained savings for up to four years. CoCM has been shown in many studies to improve both mental and physical health outcomes and reduce suicide risk. The model efficiently integrates behavioral health services where patients already seek help—in primary care—by increasing use of non-medication therapies and ensuring appropriate medications are prescribed at the lowest effective dose.
Barriers and Call to Action
The study’s authors identified Medicaid reimbursement as the key driver of adoption. Medicaid agencies and most managed care organizations in 14 states provide essentially no reimbursement for CoCM except for patients dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Absence of Medicaid reimbursement drives most providers in those states to not offer CoCM services to patients with all insurance types. The study notes CoCM expansion for children and adolescents is particularly encouraging, offering critical opportunities to address substance use gaps and save lives.
A broad coalition of organizations—including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Association, and National Alliance on Mental Illness—called on all states to adequately reimburse for CoCM and urged stakeholders to support broadscale adoption through measures recommended in the study.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://menafn.com/1110694453/New-Study-Finds-Use-Of-Psychiatric-Collaborative-Care-Model-Has-Expanded-Rapidly-For-Children-And-Adults-But-With-Enormous-Disparities-Among-States