Massachusetts Health & Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders has announced an initiative to improve access to ambulatory behavioral healthcare.
The current problem, according to a state outline of the proposal, is that people in need of behavioral healthcare may not know how to access it. That is, they are unsure of whether to contact their doctor, go to a hospital ED, call their insurance company or a hotline, or research options on the internet, among other decisions. They also may be embarrassed about seeking treatment, get lost in the maze of treatment acronyms, or have trouble finding a provider that takes their insurance coverage.
Sudders said the initiative is intended to “redesign the front door of behavioral health. Together, we will imagine a system that presents a no-wrong-door point of entry – a system with same-day access, that defines community-based emergency and urgent care responses and untangles the maze that has been created in the absence of a coherent system.”
The goal is to gather data and feedback through listening sessions in June and August, request written comments in August, create a roadmap for future action in September, and in the winter of 2019-2020 issue a policy roadmap of how the improved-access initiative would actually work.
The first listening session in a
series of eight across the commonwealth is on Wednesday, June 5, from 4 to 6 p.m. at 1 Ashburton Place, 21st Floor.
This EOHHS slide deck provides more details about the initiative and key questions EOHHS hopes to have answered as it further develops the plan.