Overview

Lessons from other states
One goal of the Learning Collaborative is to develop and advance a policy agenda to support the practice-level work of providers. This report describes the barriers to integration presented by existing state administrative structures, regulations, and payment systems, and explores what can be done to overcome those barriers to implement integrated care delivery for Medicaid beneficiaries.

• “Advancing Integrated Behavioral Health Care in Texas and Maine: Lessons from the Field” (Health Affairs)

Many other states are experimenting with strategies to integrate behavioral health and primary care, and we want to be intentional about identifying replicable models, techniques, and policies that the Learning Collaborative can test in Illinois. This Health Affairs blog post shares lessons learned from a Collaborative Care program in Texas and a Behavioral Health Home program in Maine.

• “State Strategies for Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health Services in a Changing Medicaid Environment” (The Commonwealth Fund)

Quality
A key motivation for starting the Learning Collaborative was to facilitate the adoption of effective practices for integrated care, recognizing that simply having an evidence base is not sufficient to change practice-level behavior and culture nor does an evidence base eliminate the need to adapt promising models to specific circumstances of providers and patients. Evaluating what works and for whom will be an important consideration throughout the Learning Collaborative’s activities. These documents describe some of the gaps in current quality measurement and incentive payments for both behavioral health interventions and for integration of behavioral health and primary care.

• “Quality Indicators for Physical and Behavioral Health Care Integration” (Journal of the American Medical Association, subscription required)