RESOURCES
If we want a brighter future for mental health and substance use, it will take all of us doing our part.
Below are some of our resources to help organizations of all types ensure mental healthcare and substance use treatment are part of their plan forward.
Clinicians
Empowering front-line primary care physicians who see the most cases of mental illness and prescribe the most psychotropic drugs—including pediatrics, geriatric, ObGyns, and family doctors. Also, training both psychiatrists and behavioral health coordinators (bachelor’s or associate’s degree) who, together with primary care providers, make up the care team.
Nov 23, 2022
ResourceCollaborative Care Model 101
From our partner organization, the American Psychiatric Association, these resources explain the Collaborative Care Model and how to successfully integrate it into a primary care setting, including training, implementation, reimbursement, and more.
2026 CCBHC Impact Report
From our partner organization the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics now serve 3.4 million people a year across 48 states and territories. The National Council’s 2026 CCBHC Impact Report, drawn from a survey of the nation’s 539 certified clinics, documents what the model has delivered since Medicaid began paying for […]
Apr 1, 2026
ResourcePositive Use Cases of AI in Mental Health Care
From our partner organization Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. AI should not replace mental health professionals. It should give them more time with patients. That is the principle behind Meadows Institute’s five briefs on positive use cases of AI in mental health care, which map where the technology is already helping clinicians and where it […]
Nov 1, 2025
ResourceAI and Mental Health
From our partner organization NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. People are asking AI chatbots about their mental health by the millions, and until now there has been no public test of what those chatbots say back. NAMI’s AI and Mental Health resource page, built on a national NAMI/Ipsos poll, sets out what people […]
Bright Spots in Measurement-Informed Mental Health Care
From our partner organization Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, with West Health. In the rest of medicine, clinicians measure whether treatment is working and adjust it. In mental health, that practice — measurement-informed care — is still the exception. Bright Spots in Measurement-Informed Mental Health Care profiles the health systems and clinics that have made […]
Large Reductions in Suicide Risk, Attempts and Deaths
From our partner organization Shatterproof, with the Bowman Family Foundation. Most people who die by suicide have seen a health care provider in the year before their death usually in primary care. This issue brief gathers three real-world studies showing what happens when primary care practices deliver the Collaborative Care Model: suicide risk falls by […]
Jul 17, 2024
ResourceIntegrating Behavioral Health Care into Primary Care Settings: The Collaborative Care Model
The Collaborative Care Model: How it works, how it can be integrated into primary and specialty care settings, and its many benefits.
Advancing Measurement-Informed Care in Community Behavioral Health
From our partner organization the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Community behavioral health organizations are asked to report on hundreds of measures, yet few of those measures tell a clinician whether a client is getting better. The National Council’s Medical Director Institute set out to change that, defining what measurement-informed care should mean in community […]
Jun 16, 2023
ResourceUsing the Collaborative Care Model for Special Populations
The learning modules provided by the APA include resources and guidance on how the CoCM can be used to treat specific populations. Practices have successfully adapted and implemented the CoCM to deliver mental health care to the following special patient populations: Geriatric, Pediatric, Perinatal, and Substance Use Disorders.
May 16, 2022
ResourceThe Practice and Billing Toolkit: Tools for successful implementation of the Collaborative Care Model
The American Psychiatric Association created a toolkit compiling sample tools and resources from pioneer practices that have implemented the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) and are billing for services delivered in the model.
Health Systems
Equipping entire health systems in the United States to detect and treat mental illness in its early stages and to better serve all patients—especially adolescents and transition-age youth.
Apr 1, 2026
ResourcePositive Use Cases of AI in Mental Health Care
From our partner organization Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. AI should not replace mental health professionals. It should give them more time with patients. That is the principle behind Meadows Institute’s five briefs on positive use cases of AI in mental health care, which map where the technology is already helping clinicians and where it […]
Bright Spots in Measurement-Informed Mental Health Care
From our partner organization Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, with West Health. In the rest of medicine, clinicians measure whether treatment is working and adjust it. In mental health, that practice — measurement-informed care — is still the exception. Bright Spots in Measurement-Informed Mental Health Care profiles the health systems and clinics that have made […]
Jul 8, 2025
PolicyMedicaid in Colorado and Tennessee Now Covers Collaborative Care
As of July 1, 2025, both Colorado and Tennessee will now reimburse primary care providers for delivering mental health services through the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM). With these updates, Colorado and Tennessee join 34 other states in covering Collaborative Care through Medicaid.
Large Reductions in Suicide Risk, Attempts and Deaths
From our partner organization Shatterproof, with the Bowman Family Foundation. Most people who die by suicide have seen a health care provider in the year before their death usually in primary care. This issue brief gathers three real-world studies showing what happens when primary care practices deliver the Collaborative Care Model: suicide risk falls by […]
Feb 27, 2024
ArticleMeadows Mental Health Policy Institute Shares Results of its Novel Study on the Collaborative Care Model
This report explains how the Collaborative Care Model can potentially mitigate mental healthcare accessibility and the healthcare workforce shortage by providing effective and financially sustainable care to patients on a large scale.
Advancing Measurement-Informed Care in Community Behavioral Health
From our partner organization the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Community behavioral health organizations are asked to report on hundreds of measures, yet few of those measures tell a clinician whether a client is getting better. The National Council’s Medical Director Institute set out to change that, defining what measurement-informed care should mean in community […]
Nov 1, 2023
EventAPA’s 2023 Mental Health Conference Features Discussion of Pediatric Collaborative Care Model
The 2023 Mental Health Services Conference of the American Psychiatric Association featured a discussion of the pediatric Collaborative Care Model that was led by a team from the Meadows Institute.
Apr 17, 2023
ReportImproving Behavioral Health Care for Youth Through Collaborative Care Expansion
The Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) stands out as the most evidence-based method for integrating behavioral health into primary care. Despite its proven effectiveness, especially for children and adolescents, adoption has been slow, particularly in pediatric practices.
Apr 1, 2023
ReportCollaborative Care Implementation Costs Across Health Care Systems
Report analyzing CoCM implementation cost data from 10 health systems nationwide that varied in size, U.S. region, and urban or rural setting.
Mar 17, 2022
ReportIntegration and the Pediatric Behavioral Health Workforce
Integrating mental health and substance use treatment into pediatric care holds tremendous potential for addressing workforce challenges. By leveraging both pediatric primary care and behavioral health specialty care workforces, we can make significant strides in providing comprehensive care to young patients.
Aug 13, 2020
ResourceHow Do Individuals With Behavioral Health Conditions Contribute to Physical and Total Healthcare Spending? (Milliman High-Cost Patient Study)
Commissioned by Path Forward and conducted by Milliman. Where does healthcare spending actually go, and who are the patients behind it? In 2020 Path Forward commissioned Milliman to answer that question using 2017 claims for 21 million commercially insured Americans. The study, by Stoddard Davenport, T.J. Gray, and Steve Melek, is the clearest picture yet […]
Employers
Giving purchasers of all kinds—employers, unions, and states—the tools they need to make adjustments to how they negotiate with insurance carriers. Download Our Full Checklist.
Pulse of the Purchaser 2026
From our partner organization the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. Every year the National Alliance asks employers what they are doing about healthcare costs, benefits, and quality. The 2026 Pulse of the Purchaser survey gathered responses from 408 employers, fielded in May and June 2026, representing 37 coalitions and roughly 3.7 million covered lives. […]
Nov 1, 2025
ResourceAI and Mental Health
From our partner organization NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. People are asking AI chatbots about their mental health by the millions, and until now there has been no public test of what those chatbots say back. NAMI’s AI and Mental Health resource page, built on a national NAMI/Ipsos poll, sets out what people […]
Path Forward Statement on the Case for Greater Employer Visibility into Mental Health Benefits
Path Forward has just released key findings from the second of two major national surveys of employees and large employers with the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), revealing a consistent theme: while mental health coverage is now widespread in employer-based insurance, that coverage too often lacks the transparency, accountability, and quality controls needed to ensure […]
Employers are covering mental healthcare now more than ever. So why can’t employees access it?
In the spring of 2025, Path Forward supported a survey by the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI) of 400 U.S. employers (500+ employees) to assess how mental health benefits are being offered and measured. The results highlight a paradox: 97% of employers cover mental health and/or substance use care but only 22% actually monitor the […]
Oct 6, 2025
ReportEven with Employer-Sponsored Insurance, Employees Struggle to Access Mental Health Care
A new national survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) in partnership with Path Forward reveals a troubling yet unsurprising reality: insurance coverage does not guarantee access to mental health care. For many, these findings mirror personal experience. Yet, when those experiences are validated by data that confirms how far-reaching the problem is, […]
Oct 2, 2024
ResourceMental Health Initiative Guidebook: Employer Mental Health Strategies—An Essential Investment
To help employers, the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions has developed the Mental Health Initiative Guidebook: Employer Mental Health Strategies—An Essential Investment. This step-by-step guidebook provides actionable steps for implementing comprehensive mental health strategies.
Aug 8, 2024
EventCreating a Harmonious Workplace: Navigating the Political Divide
Election Anxiety is spilling over into the workplace, affecting mental health and creating challenges for employers and HR leaders alike. The HR Policy Association tackled this pressing issue head-on with a webinar that provided valuable insights into fostering a respectful and productive work environment amidst a divided nation.
Jun 10, 2024
ReportThe Path to National Leadership: The First Business-Led Statewide Mental Health Initiative
The first business-led statewide mental health initiative is here! Launched at the 2024 Leadership Conference on Safety and Sustainability, headlined by Michael Phelps, the initiative focuses on making Florida a top-five state for overall well-being and, ultimately, the healthiest state in America.
Jan 17, 2024
ResourceEngaging Insurers on Behavioral Health – An Employer Resource
The issues of mental health access and quality have become increasingly recognized as foundational to employer health strategy.
Key Focus Areas: Network Access, Other Access, Quality of Care Management, Integration into Primary Care and Workplace Mental Health.
Oct 10, 2023
ReportImproving Network Adequacy for Mental Health Care and Substance Use Disorders
The Path Forward Coalition has released a new report: “Equitable Access to Care for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Standards, Measures, and Enforcement of Network Adequacy.”
Sep 17, 2023
ResourceEmployer Action Plan
Take charge of mental health care for millions of Americans with the purchasing power in your hands. What it takes is a just a few small changes to how purchasers negotiate with insurance companies and third-party administrators. And we are here to help.
Dec 17, 2022
ResourceAdvanced 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.
Insurers
Empowering insurers to scale the Collaborative Care Model through investment in training and startup costs.
May 18, 2024
EventRecap: Mid-Atlantic Path Forward Webinar on the Collaborative Care Model
This webinar delved into the intricate implementation of the Collaborative Care Model within primary care settings. Attendees gained valuable insights into how these programs are being integrated, the progress they have made, and their current status.
Sep 29, 2023
ResourceMental Health Association of Maryland Host Second Webinar on Collaborative Care Model
The webinar series serves as a platform for healthcare professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders to share their experiences and learn from each other’s successes and challenges in adopting the Collaborative Care Model.
May 17, 2023
Case StudyBlue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Collaborative Care Model Improves Patient Health and Lowers Costs
Studies show that chronic conditions can be better managed when behavioral health problems are addressed. Patients get better faster. And care costs less.
Jan 1, 2022
ReportCollaborative Care Implementation Costs Across Health Care Systems
This report from MMHPI analyzes CoCM implementation cost data from 10 health systems nationwide that varied in size, U.S. region, and urban or rural setting.