Advanced Request for Information: Behavioral Health Integration

This Advanced Primary Care RFI builds off the principles outlined in the PBGH Common Purchasing Agreement and is intended to be used by purchasers interested in making advanced primary care available for their employees.

Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH) members include the largest public and private purchasers of health care in the U.S. Collectively, these organizations spend roughly $350 billion annually buying health care for employees and families. For the past two years PBGH members have come together to develop consensus standards for advanced primary care.

Working with providers, plans and national experts, the group clearly articulated what purchasers expect from the market in a Common Purchasing Agreement, which is endorsed by employers and describes employer priorities, objectives and accountability standards for primary care that can lead to better care at a lower cost.

Because care varies by region and one size does not f it all, in the PBGH Common Purchasing Agreement, employers aimed to be clear and concise but also intentionally flexible to respect regional and other differences in care delivery. However, when PBGH members shared these expectations and principles with their health plan and direct contracting partners, many indicated the need for further specificity about employers’ expectations. In response, PBGH and its members have developed a request for information (RFI), which more fully articulates what employers expect and want to pay for.

View and download the complete RFI here.