A Year of Measurable Progress and a Clear Path Ahead
Path Forward’s 2025 Year in Review
Some years shift the landscape unmistakably — 2025 was one of them.
In 2025, progress showed up in data, policy, and payment reforms that are bringing mental health care closer to where people already receive care.
Across employers, health systems, policymakers, and advocates, momentum continued to build toward a more integrated, accountable, and accessible mental health system.
Here are a few of the moments that defined the year.
Signals from Both Sides of the Workforce
This year, Path Forward built on findings from the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions and released new national survey data in partnership with the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), capturing perspectives from both employers and employees.
The data revealed a clear disconnect: 97% of large employers offer mental health coverage, but only 22% measure whether that care is timely, effective, or actually reaching the people who need it.
On the employee side, respondents who reported a mental health condition were twice as likely as those without one to say they were unable to get the mental health care they needed.
Together, the findings point to the same conclusion: coverage alone is not enough.
Our conclusion: employers need transparent access to claims data and meaningful measures of quality in order to improve care and better position themselves to drive the system-level change employees are asking for.
Collaborative Care Model Gains National Momentum
This year marked a major milestone for the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM), a proven, team-based approach that integrates mental health and substance use disorder care into primary care settings.
A first-ever national analysis and heat map—commissioned by the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute on behalf of Path Forward and West Health, in partnership with the American Psychiatric Association—captured CoCM adoption across the country, representing the experiences of more than 200 million Americans.
One bright spot stood out:
Adoption of Collaborative Care in the commercial insurance market increased tenfold between 2018 and 2023.
Follow-up reporting has shown that momentum has only continued since then—evidence that integration is no longer theoretical. It is happening, and at scale.
Partner Wins: Advancing Shared Priorities
Across the field, Path Forward partners made meaningful progress in 2025—advancing policy, payment, accountability, and community-based care in ways that align with a more integrated and effective mental health system.
American Psychiatric Association
On July 1, Colorado and Tennessee approved Medicaid payment for the Collaborative Care Model, bringing the national total to 36 states. Through sustained advocacy and data partnerships, the American Psychiatric Association—alongside the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute—has helped lead efforts to secure Medicaid reimbursement for Collaborative Care. This progress represents a significant step toward expanding access to evidence-based, team-based mental health care nationwide.
Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute continued to advance measurement-informed care as a cornerstone of quality improvement. In partnership with West Health, Meadows published a new brief and hosted a companion webinar focused on how regularly using patient data can support more consistent, accountable, and effective behavioral health care. Their work helped elevate measurement as a practical tool for improving outcomes—not just a reporting requirement.
National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions
Employers continued to signal growing expectations for accountability in mental health benefits. According to Pulse of the Purchaser 2025, more than 70% of employers are taking steps to improve vendor accountability. The findings reflect increasing momentum among both private and public purchasers toward stronger oversight, better performance measurement, and more equitable access to care.
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
NAMI elevated the voices and experiences of people living with mental health conditions through new national polling. Nearly one in five Americans reported their mental health as poor, while large majorities opposed federal cuts to services, housing, Medicaid, and suicide prevention. NAMI also released a new analysis of the federal budget reconciliation law, highlighting projected coverage losses, new Medicaid work requirements, and administrative barriers that disproportionately affect people with mental health needs.
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
In November, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing announced a landmark $72 million investment from Ballmer Group Philanthropy to expand access to care through Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in Kansas, Michigan, and Illinois. National Council also launched a joint initiative with the National Association of Community Health Centers to better coordinate integration and workforce efforts across safety-net clinics. At a moment of continued pressure on Medicaid, these investments brought federal resources and technical support to trusted community-based providers.
Looking Ahead
Even though the work ahead remains substantial, 2025 showed what’s possible when data, policy, payment, and partnership move in the same direction.
Progress is taking root across systems and Path Forward is committed to ensuring that momentum continues, guided by evidence, collaboration, and a shared belief that better mental health care is both achievable and essential.