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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: ensuring access to mental health and substance use care for all Americans. And we could use your help.

Access for All: Our Action Plan

We align policy, practice, and payment around care that works, so millions more Americans get the mental health care and substance use treatment they need, when and where they need it. We work in partnership with physicians, health systems, commercial payers, employer purchasers, and federal policymakers. We work together on the federal budget, federal and state payment rules, how doctors get paid, what insurers cover, and new laws that advance our care solutions:

1. Non-licensed supports

Community health workers, peers, and families from the communities they serve help people navigate care and inspire trust and hope. We advance legislation like the PEERS Act (S. 3521/H.R. 6841) and the Community Mental Wellness Worker Training Act (H.R. 5733) to support these workers as well as flexibilities that remove the need for an in-person supervisor for community health workers through the physician fee schedule.

2. Responsible AI

In make-or-break emotional moments, responsible AI connects people to clinicians who can help. Path Forward is advancing a research and advocacy agenda with policymakers, AI companies, and health plans toward a people-driven future where safety and quality are core design principles.

3. Collaborative Care

Collaborative care is team-based care that brings mental health and substance use treatment into the primary care visit. It has been tested in 90+ randomized trials; patients are more than twice as likely to reach remission as with usual care; and one psychiatric consultant can support more than eight times as many patients as in traditional specialty care. We advance the model through the COMPLETE Care Act (S. 931/H.R. 2509), state reimbursement codes, and the physician fee schedule, and promote tracking of insurer uptake with clear and transparent claims data.

4. Measurement-informed care

Measurement-informed care is an evidence-based practice of routinely tracking a patient’s symptoms, functioning, and well-being to guide treatment, but only a small fraction of mental health practitioners use it. Path Forward is advancing measurement-informed care with the Administration, CMS, and major health insurers so that tracking response to behavioral health treatment becomes as routine as checking blood pressure at every visit.

5. Telemental health

When lawmakers, payers, and providers embraced digital mental health technology during the pandemic, millions of Americans sought counseling for the first time, and studies found telepsychotherapy as effective as in-person therapy for a range of conditions. Path Forward has fought to extend the COVID-era flexibilities ever since, and our Telemental Health Care Access Act (S. 2011/H.R. 3884) would make them permanent.

Collaborative Care Heat Map

Our Scaling Network

American Psychiatric Association (APA)

40,000

Psychiatrists (APA)

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

650

Local chapters for families and people with lived experience (NAMI)

National Council for Mental Wellbeing

539

CCBHCs serving 3.4M, 73% in schools (National Council)

Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute

15,000,000

Reached through primary care (Meadows)

National of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions | Driving Health, Equity, and Value

45,000,000

covered employees (National Alliance)

Healthy Minds Policy Initiative

862,000

Oklahomans served (Healthy Minds)

Shatterproof | Stronger than addiction

48,000,000

individuals with substance use disorder and their families (Shatterproof)

Recent Progress

More Results

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
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