Path Forward for Mental Health & Substance Use

Path Forward is a coalition united in the spirit of collaboration to ensure all Americans have access to the mental health and substance use care they need. Our members include: the American Psychiatric Association, HR Policy Association, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, NAMI, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and National Alliance of Healthcare Purchasers. FOCUS We unify our partners’ voices and concentrate collective efforts on key priority reforms across all stakeholder groups. We are consistently and actively involved in ongoing dialogues with trade groups, accreditors, major insurers, and policymakers. We drive our results by reforming policies, scaling practices, and advocating for change at both national and local levels. COLLABORATIVE CARE MODEL The Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) adds a behavioral health care coordinator (associate’s or bachelor’s level) and psychiatrist to a primary care clinician’s team and brings the mental health screening and referral process directly to the person in need during a primary care visit. CoCM is extensively supported by scientific studies, with over 90 randomized controlled trials demonstrating its clinical efficacy. It supports safe, evidence-based prescribing at lower cost by leveraging the psychiatrist’s time 8X over. Collaborative Care is 100 percent self-sustaining with billing codes. NETWORK ADEQUACY Ensuring equitable access to high-quality behavioral health services by educating stakeholders to demand better from their health plans and administrators. MEASUREMENT-BASED CARE Using precision measurement tools to detect individual needs early—just like we do for cancer and heart disease—and tracking outcomes systematically to inform treatment choices and drive person-centered results.