We’re not waiting to take action to increase access to mental health care

Facing a national mental health crisis, Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies are taking action in communities across the country to boost access to high quality mental health care:

• We’re expanding our network of providers.
• We’re investing in the next generation of providers.
• We’re investing in our communities to help all Americans receive the care they need.

Making it easier for our members to access mental health support

BCBS companies are working to ensure members have access to quality care where and when they need it.

• Despite a well-documented mental health workforce shortage, we’ve increased the number of behavioral health providers in our networks by 55% between 2019 and 2023 to more than 450,000 across all 50 states. 
• We support the critical role primary care doctors play in getting patients help. Independence Blue Cross has partnered with Quartet, a digital vendor, to help primary care doctors identify patients with mental health conditions and connect them with care. 
• We’re making telehealth even more accessible and affordable. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts engaged Brightline Health for children ages 3-17 and their parents to provide live online child psychiatry, psychotherapy and family support.
• We’re connecting people with resources like specially trained coaches, peer support specialists and community health workers. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island helps kids with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) by working with Braver, which employs home-based coaches supervised by a psychologist or psychiatrist, tripling the number of patients child psychiatrists can treat.

Read Owen’s story and learn more about Braver’s partnership with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

Fueling the provider pipeline

To get people the care they need, we must address the workforce shortage. That’s why we’re funding scholarships and making donations to support the next generation of providers.

• The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation supports the Southwest Louisiana Behavioral Health Pipeline Program, which incentivizes students to complete their graduate work at McNeese State University and encourages them to practice in the underserved Southwest Louisiana region.
• Similarly, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield is providing more than $1.5M in funding to Master of Social Work programs at three local universities.

Supporting our communities 

BCBS companies invest in the unique needs of each community we serve by meeting people where they are.

• BCBS companies have invested $10M in Boys & Girls Clubs of America to ramp up training in trauma-informed practices for 48,000 staff at more than 5,000 Clubs. The work will touch the lives of more than three million children across the country by 2026.
• BCBS companies have more than 250 youth mental health programs nationwide
• Collectively, in 2022, we invested $44M in community mental health programs.

^{Independence Blue Cross, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, and Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield are independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent, locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.}