Patients in North Carolina face a significant barrier to getting mental health care services: a shortage of behavioral health specialists. North Carolina ranks 38th in access to mental health care, according to Mental Health America, and 61 of the state’s 100 counties have no psychiatrists treating children and adolescents.
In its latest effort to address critical mental health needs in the state, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is tapping a fast-growing mental health startup to help expand its network of behavioral health providers.
Through a partnership with Headway, Blue Cross NC is particularly focused on addressing access issues in underserved communities, including rural and socially vulnerable areas, and expanding mental health care for children, adolescents and individuals across diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
The collaboration will make it easier for Blue Cross NC members to quickly access—as soon as within 48 hours—in-network therapists and psychiatrists who meet their specific needs, according to the organizations.
Headway aims to build a new mental health care system in the U.S. to make it easier both for patients to find a therapist and for therapists to accept insurance, according to Headway CEO and co-founder Andrew Adams.
"We started with building our network of providers on a common infrastructure to solve all the barriers that typically exist and stymie access for providers, patients and health plans," he told Fierce Healthcare.
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