Guaranteeing that all Californians have timely access to culturally appropriate, evidencebased treatment for mental illness and substance use disorders that is linked to their physical health care represents a huge challenge we are not daunted, with the intention to be sure.
Systematic commitment to improvement could create real and lasting improvements in the health status of all Americans, as Margarita Alegría and colleagues observe in their excellentarticle about reducing racial and ethnic disparities in behavioral health care. CHCF can make meaningful contributions to encourage behavioral health integration. Behavioral health conditions are eminently treatable.
Patients really like that illustrate why CHCF is intent on advancing the integration of behavioral and medical care as a significant way to improve access for ‘low income’ populations, ensure that care is costeffective, and provide data to and similar addictive behaviors, at CHCF. By the way, the treatment of mental illnesses like depression and personality disorder. CHCF is working to advance lots of these efforts. This is the actual reason why behavioral health integration in which people receive coordinated or colocated care for all their health needs has such huge implications for ‘MediCal’, California’s largest health certificate program. Actually, at the state level and locally, MediCal is engaged in multiple initiatives to move toward behavioral health integration. Of the 5percent of MediCal enrollees who have the highest costs, 45percent have a serious mental illness.
Recognition of the significant human and financial costs of behavioral health disorders, together with recent implementation of federal and state laws enhancing coverage of mental health services, have lifted behavioral health to the top of the nation’s health policy agenda.
This finding was featured in amid the 29 impressive articles published in the new behavioral health themed issue of Health Affairs. In 2013, mental disorders topped the list of most costly conditions with spending estimated at
Share This Article