2025 Agenda

7:00	Networking Continental Breakfast
7:45	Chairperson’s Opening Remarks: Sandra K. Berg, PhD, LCPCSenior Director of Behavioral Health and ProgramsCareSource Brad Lerner, J.D.Director of Public Policy and Manager of Behavioral Health and Enterprise IssuesElevance Health
8:00	Behavioral Health Access: Evaluating the Current Evidence for Behavioral Health Network Adequacy Standards Julie Hayes Seibert, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.A.Senior Research Scientist – Behavioral HealthNCQA
8:30	Accessibility Restrictions in Behavioral Health: Solutions for Overcoming Provider Shortages and Workforce Obstacles Recognizing the severity of workforce shortages in behavioral health Eliminating provider burnout and evaluating the effectiveness of short-term interventions Addressing shortage of providers through innovative models Exploring technology’s role in optimizing staff resources Treating cognitive disorders in primary care Using technology to bridge gaps and enhance access Therapy vs. psychopharmacological access Identifying and addressing issues related to access and network adequacy Addressing challenges in transitions of care, discharge, and follow-up Naomi Fener, NP, MPHDirector, Population HealthFamilies USA Glory Dole, BSN, MA, RNSection Manager, Medicaid Contract and Compliance, Medicaid Programs DivisionWashington State Health Care Authority
9:00	Utilizing Telehealth and Virtual Care to Increase Access to Effective Behavioral Health Effectively addressing gaps in service with telehealth and virtual care How are payers accessing the landscape of tools/apps for quality and efficacy? Providing a curated selection of digital tools to ensure security and privacy Using telepsychiatry to improve VBC for behavioral health Addressing today’s telehealth/virtual care flexibilities and complexities How is AI facilitating the gaps in care? What are the strengths and weaknesses? Reimbursement setbacks What does quality care for virtual care models look like? Developing a reliable infrastructure for advanced technology in behavioral health Moderator: Ann C. O’Grady, LCSWBehavioral Health DirectorIndependence Blue Cross Panelists: Hayley Sink, MPADirector of Health EquityTrillium Health Resources in North Carolina Maeghan Gilmore, MPHVice President, Government AffairsAssociation for Behavioral Health and Wellness Leah NewkirkSenior CounselKaiser Permanente
9:45	Getting to the Next Phase of Integrated Models of Care: Integrating Mental/Behavioral Health into Home Health/Primary Care Settings Investigating effective models to seamlessly integrate behavioral health services within primary care settings Evaluating the influence of integrated care models on outcomes for individuals with social and emotional needs Realistic challenges for integrated models Behavioral health to Value Based Care models Addressing the untreated or undertreated areas of behavioral health in primary care settings: How can primary care give these patient quality care? Developing better payment and measurement programs Mandatory mental health screening Eliminating administrative barriers and increasing payment rates Moving past concept to real traction Sandra K. Berg, PhD, LCPCSenior Director of Behavioral Health and ProgramsCareSource Gloria Merritt, RN, MSN VP BH Growth & Clinical ServicesElara Caring
10:20	Networking Refreshment Break
10:50	Value-Based Strategies for Payers: Paying for Behavioral Health Integration Advancing VBC, waivers, bonuses, quality with holds, incentives, etc. and minimizing the biggest limiting factor in behavior health progress Examining strategies improve payers to provide incentives Supporting the implementation of effective behavioral health intervention Assessing how value-based payment models influence the quality, efficiency, and sustainability of behavioral health care Developing better payment and measurement programs Funding initiatives: Industry standards for improving reimbursement, sustainability, insurance reimbursement rates, public mental health system, grants, and accessing private funding How does this transform under VBC? What do the economics look like? Reducing cost in behavioral health Mental health parity considerations Documentation expectations and setbacks Bundled Case rates with Peer Support Aligned Incentives with Providers Economic and TCoC results Sandra K. Berg, PhD, LCPCSenior Director of Behavioral Health and ProgramsCareSource Stephanie Koenig, LCSW Behavioral Health DirectorUnited Healthcare Community Plan of KY Justin Ley CEO Reema Health
11:35	Utilizing Peer Support to Address the Mental Health Crisis Across the Lifespan Exploring various models of peer support Importance of peer support to address workforce issues Reimbursement strategies for peer support Lynda Gargan, Ph.D.Executive DirectorNational Federation of Families Jessica Johnson LPCC, LICDCDirector, Behavioral Health and Wellness CareSource
12:20	Networking Lunch
1:20	Technology, Adoption, and Operational Considerations for Quality Measurement Based Care Looking at new national guidelines Operationalizing quality and measurement standards Data-driven population health for behavioral healthcare What does technology and measurement look like for behavioral health vs physical care? What needs to change and what are the steps for adoption? How do you measure what good quality looks like for behavioral health? Measuring efficacy programs Provider engagement and incentives tactics that work How is technology facilitating quality measures? Lauren ConaboyVice President of National PolicyCenterstone Reyna Taylor Senior Vice President, Public Policy & Advocacy, Policy DepartmentNational Council for Mental Wellbeing Jeremy Weisz Co-Founder and CEOGreenspace Health
2:10	Leveraging Data Analytics for Enhanced Behavioral Health Explore advanced analytics strategies to enhance behavioral health in elder care, addressing behavioral, mental, emotional well-being, and the challenge of social isolation. Join us in unraveling key themes: Analytics for Behavioral Health: Early and effective identification of conditions like depression, dementia, substance use disorders, or PTSD, or symptoms may be mistaken as normal aging. Discover analytics applications to reveal service gaps and optimize outcomes Access and Modernized Care: Utilize data-driven insights for improved care access, enabling aging in place. Modernize elder care delivery through analytics-informed strategies for mental diseases, cognitive conditions, and social isolation Health Disparities and Inclusive Solutions: Mitigate health disparities with analytics, ensuring inclusive mental health solutions for elderly individuals, considering prevalent conditions and socio-economic factors Mina Chang, Ph.D. Deputy Director, Chief Analytics & Compliance DivisionOhio Department of Aging
2:35	Health Disparities and SDoMH: Behavioral Health through the Lens of Diversity Examining disparities in the detection and diagnosis of behavioral health How do these disparities vary among different demographic groups? Implementing solid interventions to reduce health disparities in mental health and SUD What are the behavioral health needs for rural areas? And how do they get better access? Implementing culturally appropriate services for behavioral health Psychological barriers to finding community resources for housing, food scarcity, and transportation Honing in on evidence-based methods to solve treatment and behavioral activation Ethnic care, language, and behavioral health: Barriers and drivers Overcoming coding and reimbursement obstacles Making encouragement a focal point for success Reversing social drift Moderator: Diane Arms, Director, Community Behavioral HealthThe Council on Recovery Panelists: Yavar Moghimi, MD,Medical Director, Behavioral HealthAmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies Staci Lofton,Senior Director, Health EquityFamilies USA
3:15	Networking Refreshment Break
3:45	Policy Update: How Does NCQA Plan to Improve the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Programs Support CCBHCs as they transform their model of care Support state oversight of CCBHCs in the state Decrease the burden on state staff, and increase opportunities to support CCBHCs Increase confidence in the quality of care and services provided Michael J.E. Grier, MPH Director of Federal AffairsNCQA Jeni SoucieSenior Manager, Product ManagementNCQA
4:30	Behavioral Health Focused Clinically Integrated Networks: Building Partnerships for Increased Access and Integrated Models of Care In order to support, the rapidly changing healthcare environment, payment and policy expectations, behavioral health services must scale to meet new demands. Formation of Behavioral Health focused Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs), popular among physical health systems, provides a platform for the scale required without individual provider organizations losing their autonomy and clinical focus. The purpose of this session is to help providers, payors and policy makers understand the trends, challenges, and opportunities in Behavioral Health Clinically Integrated Networks. The partnerships and infrastructure required to yield positive benefits for those served as well as the policy and payment structures that support their continued growth will be discussed. Finally, we will discuss the the benefits of CINs in increasing access to care as well as how these platforms support integrated care and value-based payment models. Steven Hedgepeth, MBA,Practice Lead, Government and ProvidersMostly Medicaid, LLC
5:00	(Optional and Across the hall) Strengthening Medicaid Coverage for Crisis Care: State Approaches to Mobile Crisis and 988 Integration This session focuses on the real-world implementation of the Crisis Now Model, which is considered a national best practice model for crisis care. The Crisis Now model includes ensuring that people in crisis have someone to call, someone to respond, and somewhere to go, in addition to a set of essential principles and practices. Numerous laws, incentives, and funding programs at the federal, state, and local level have created enabling contexts for the transformation of crisis services in the U.S., but coordination across historical and newly developed entities and authorities require the highest levels of coordination and cooperation. This session will provide a national landscape, with a focus on systemic and structural elements of crisis services. Transformational change and underlying social and cultural paradigm shifts take significant time, coordination, and resources. This session will consider next steps and future directions being pursued in the U.S. to realize the vision of an integrated system of behavioral health crisis services that is recovery oriented and trauma informed, with a focus on Virginia’s story. Lisa Jobe-Shields, Ph.D.Behavioral Health Division Director,Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services
5:40- 6:40	Networking Cocktail Reception

7:45	Networking Continental Breakfast
8:20	Chairperson’s Opening Remarks: Sandra K. Berg, PhD, LCPC,Senior Director of Behavioral Health and ProgramsCareSource Brad Lerner, J.D.Director of Public Policy and Manager of Behavioral Health and Enterprise IssuesElevance Health
8:30	Designing a Multi-Payer VBC Initiative to Support Integration of Primary Care and Behavioral Health What are the latest Mental Health Parity statues and how are they expected to change? What are the latest regulations for telehealth, technology, and behavioral health Proposed changes to the Addiction Equity Act rules and parity in general How are these initiatives affecting payers? What is the Innovation in Behavior Health (IBH) Model’s goal and how will this impact quality of care and outcomes? How will IBH support health IT and infrastructure payments? Interoperability regulations Opioid settlement dollar spending concerns Brad Lerner, J.D.Director of Public Policy and Manager of Behavioral Health and Enterprise IssuesElevance Health Tim ClementVice President of Federal Government AffairsMental Health America David LloydChief Policy OfficerInseparable
9:15	Long Term Solutions for the Myriad Problems Plaguing Child and Young Adults in Mental Health and SUD Resources and long term solutions Accessibility and the supply/demand imbalance Compounding mental health and SUD concerns for the adolescents and young adults Supporting families, school-based, and youth-led programs Long term cost considerations for those who go untreated or mistreated Dr. Raymond Blanchard, LMHC, NCC, CCMHC, Assistant Professor, Clinical Mental Health CounselingMolloy University Steven Sheets, LPCPresident & CEOSouthwest Behavioral & Health Services
9:45	Innovative Treatments and Prevention of Substance Use Disorders and Opioids Recognizing scarsity in resources, funding, and education Nationwide and local interventions for prevention and early intervention Overcoming the challenges of treating addicitons in primary care Virtual innovations Broader access to reliable treatment Strategies to lower the out of pocket cost for SUD treatment Coping with current predatory out of state treatment facilities Moderator: Ann C. O’Grady, LCSW Behavioral Health Director Independence Blue Cross Panelists: Umar Bowers, MD, Medical DirectorDawson Med & Dawson Med Urgent Care Elizabeth Whitteker, DBH, LCSW, Manager, Behavioral HealthMolina Healthcare of California Jennifer Fillmore, MS, LCAC, Director of Substance Use Residential and Specialized ServicesCenterstone
10:30	Networking Refreshment Break
11:00	Relational Health: The Impact of Relationships on Youth Mental Health and Strategies to Build Resilience Relational Health is the cornerstone of human health and development, however, according to recent Surgeon General reports, young adults are experiencing the highest incidence of loneliness. In reframing the view of health, and understanding that humans interact relationally, we must include relational health as an integral part of building resilience in children and youth. With groundbreaking evidence from longitudinal studies across three continents, we offer a framing of the health outcomes associated with loneliness, the importance of relational richness as the key contributor of health and well-being across the life course, and relational strategies that can help build youth resilience. This will be a thought-provoking, interactive workshop designed to emphasize how we can mobilize around relational health to dramatically improve the experiences of children, youth, and their parents. The workshop will demonstrate the power of harnessing positive, strong, and nurturing relationships for growth, protection, and healing. These sessions will expand on the concept of relational health for system change, advance the growing knowledge of best practices for promotion, prevention and healing. Participants will leave the session with (1) an understanding of how the structure of current approaches actually hamper relational health; (2) exposure to an initial experience laying the foundation for co-design of a better way with parents/youth/children; (3) the ability to utilize at least one approach they can replicate in their current work with communities that will encourage engagement and promote relational health. Robert Krebbs Vice President, Value Based Care & Provider EnablementSentara Health Plans
11:30	Suicide Care, Prevention, & Peer Support 988, suicide prevention policy considerations, and the need for greater follow-up services Suicide care: Best practices Patients at risk Preventative measures that work Peer support groups Will payers pay for peer support? Supporting 988 services Moderator: Sera Davidow, LeadershipWildflower Alliance Panelists: Rachel Davis-Martin, PhD., Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School Laurel Stine, JD, MA, Executive Vice President & Chief Policy Officer American Foundation for Suicide Prevention David A. Jobes, Ph.D., ABPP, Professor of Psychology ,Associate Director of Clinical Training Director, Suicide Prevention Laboratory The Catholic University of America, Department of Psychology
12:15	End of the Conference