In partnership with the Association for Behavioral Healthcare and the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, BHECON is hosting a series of forums to address issues around behavioral health care delivery and identify policy solutions for these issues. Through these conversations, stakeholders and advocates are advancing policy reforms that will strengthen Massachusetts’s behavioral health delivery system. Stay tuned for major accomplishments, news and research of interest in Massachusetts.
On January 16, 2019, BHECON joined the Association for Behavioral Healthcare, the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation hosting a half-day forum on co-occurring behavioral health conditions and policy solutions to improve treatment outcomes. The forum, “Innovative Approaches for the Prevention and…
Read moreThe University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics released an updated state chartbook for Massachusetts’ ahead of their upcoming forum. This updated document provides the latest data on workforce, serious mental illness, and economic burden from the state and national perspectives. The chartbooks are used by…
Read moreOp-Ed-A local model pointing the way for Massachusetts criminal justice reform By Diane E. Gould, February 2nd, 2018. This op-ed written by forum presenter Diane Gould quotes data that show more than 42 percent of individuals incarcerated in Massachusetts have previously been diagnosed with a behavioral health condition. She also…
Read moreStronger Behavioral Health Focus in Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Could Save State Up to $300M Annually (Boston, MA) November 10, 2017 – Over 40 percent of individuals incarcerated in Massachusetts state prisons and jails have been previously diagnosed with a behavioral health condition – 27 percent with a serious mental…
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On November 9, 2017, the Association for Behavioral Healthcare, Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, in partnership with the Behavioral Health + Economics Network (BHECON), hosted a forum on innovative practices for integrating behavioral health and the criminal justice system. The forum, “The…
Read moreImproving access to high-quality medical care for patients with mental illness remains one of the most vexing problems facing the healthcare system in the United States. As a way to highlight key data on the health and economic impact of Medicaid and other federal policies in expanding access to care,…
Read moreThe following letter to the editor written By Danna Mauch from our partner Massachusetts Association for Mental Health was published in the Boston Globe. Mass. lawmakers advance crime reform
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BHECON is a platform to bring stakeholders, researchers, policy experts and government officials across the fields of behavioral health, criminal justice, and public safety together to consider initiatives and reforms based on sound economic data. BHECON believes leveraging data and engaging diverse stakeholders can drive behavioral health system change to improve the lives of individuals living with serious mental illness.