We are the

PATH FORWARD

To a future of

For Mental Health And Substance Use

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If we want a brighter future for mental healthcare and substance use treatment, we have to work together.

To get the results we want, we need the right people, plan, and resources to come together. That’s where Path Forward comes in. We’re a coalition of healthcare purchasers, clinician associations, health systems, philanthropists, and health-related nonprofits united by one goal: giving mental healthcare the brightest possible future. And we could use your help.

Equitable Access: Our Action Plan

By restructuring how leading health purchasers, health systems, regulators, and other partners approach their mental healthcare and substance use treatment offerings, we are driving structural changes in these areas:

Specialty Access

Increasing access in-network for the full range of behavioral health needs with specialty care that is timely, accessible, equitable, and adequately reimbursed by insurers. This includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and other counselors, as well as mental health and substance use treatment facilities. Achieved through: Network Adequacy Standards and Parity Compliance.

Integration

Accelerating integration of mental health into the general medical system–and through it early detection and intervention–by equipping the primary care providers who already identify and treat the most mental health cases and prescribe the most psychotropic medication. This includes pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, and other clinicians who are among America’s most beloved and trusted confidants. Achieved with the most evidence-based model that exists: Collaborative Care.

Quality

Promoting national standards and accelerating adoption of precision medicine and person-centered care across specialty mental health and primary care settings–just like we do now for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other common chronic conditions. Achieved through Measurement-Based Care.

Recent Progress

Our Resources For Many

Find tools, presentations and more to ensure your practice has everything it needs to provide quality care for all those who seek it.

Clinicians Resources

Get information on early detection methods, Collaborative Care Model practices, and more to ensure the health of our nation’s future.

Health Systems Resources

Receive Employer Action Plan, sample contract language, and detailed data requests you can use to shape your organization’s benefits offerings and develop smart contracts with insurers.

Employers Resources

Download metrics, measures, and standards you can use to align your company’s policies with the Federal parity law and ensure those insured have adequate access and coverage.

Insurer Resources