Mental Health
Why is this important to family physicians?
Illinois family physicians are in a unique position to address the gaps in care left behind by the shortage of psychiatric care in Illinois.
What can be done?
Illinois family physicians can increase access to mental health services to their communities by way of the Mental Health Collaborative Care Model. This model brings mental health service delivery into the primary care setting. It creates an environment that allows for collaboration and coordinated care between family physicians, care managers, and consulting psychiatrists to meet the specific mental health needs of their shared patient. This model can be led by a family physician, and supported by psychiatrists, care managers, and other mental health service providers.
By integrating mental health services into the primary care setting, the CoCM is:
Clinically significant and cost-efficient, because it reduces productivity loss and health care utilization;
Improves patients’ quality-adjusted life years; and
Reduces barriers to access, improves service quality and lowers healthcare expenditures.
What recently happened on this topic?
Click here for the IAFP August 2022 Statement on Mental Health in response to a legislative task force formation in the summer of 2022.
In the summer and fall of 2022, there was also finally regulatory movement on Public Act 101-574 (Sen. Laura Fine/Rep. Deb Conroy), which amended the Public Aid Code and Insurance Code to create targeted reimbursement for the Mental Health Collaborative Care Model (CoCM). The law became effective January 1, 2020, and while implementation by state regulators was delayed for Medicaid patients, commercial carriers have moved forward with positive results already being demonstrated, see Synchronicity Report, Dec. 2020.
Due to IAFP efforts along with other healthcare coalition members, see IAFP CCM Implementation Memo, Medicaid implementation occurred in the summer of 2022, see June 21, 2022 HFS Provider Notice, and remains ongoing. IAFP advocated for funding as much as 100% of the Medicare rate similar to initial Affordable Care Act practices, and at a minimum, 75% of the Medicare rate similar to the national average, see State Medicaid Approaches to Reimbursing Psychiatric Collaborative Care (September 2020), which was ulimately a success for its implementation.