The psychological well being of our youngest members has by no means been extra essential. At Independence Blue Cross (IBX), we’re strengthening our dedication to youth psychological well being by rising the IBX behavioral well being supplier community and enhancing entry for kids and teenage members.
Youth Psychological Well being Impacts Us All
Sadly, behavioral well being situations like anxiousness and despair have been on the rise amongst kids, adolescents, and younger adults. And the World Happiness Report 2024 exhibits happiness amongst younger folks has declined within the U.S.
Considered one of each six kids has a diagnosable psychological well being situation.1 As well as:
- Almost 60 p.c of youth with main despair don’t obtain any psychological well being remedy.2
- Non-white youths have a 35 p.c decrease analysis charge of main despair versus white youths.3
- Greater than half of younger adults ages 18 – 21 reported signs of tension or despair in 2023.4
The rise in behavioral well being issues for younger folks doesn’t simply impression the youngsters. Mother and father and caregivers are additionally affected, and, consequently, so are their employers. Virtually half of workers have a toddler youthful than 18. And 53 p.c of working mother and father have missed work at the very least as soon as monthly to are inclined to their youngster’s psychological well being.5
For the well-being of our younger folks and communities, IBX has strengthened its dedication to youth psychological well being with a concentrate on serving to households discover high quality in-network behavioral well being care and enhancing availability and entry.
Enhanced Care Navigation Companies for Members
We all know that early intervention and built-in care are essential for the well-being of youngsters and youths, so we’re making it simpler for them to get the care they want rapidly.
When members want steerage or care associated to their youngster’s behavioral well being, they’ll depend on our Behavioral Well being staff, who can:
- Assess and perceive the kid’s wants
- Present details about in-network remedy choices and sources
- Put them in contact with a Behavioral Well being Case Supervisor for ongoing help
- Join them to an acceptable in-network behavioral well being supplier to facilitate quick entry to the care they want
- Give in-the-moment help throughout robust occasions
Members can schedule appointments immediately with an in-network supplier, or our Behavioral Well being staff can immediately schedule appointments with an IBX behavioral well being community supplier for them. We will help members get an appointment rapidly — often inside per week. We work with a number of behavioral well being suppliers that supply quick entry, are culturally responsive, and supply high-quality take care of basic psychological well being points.
Enriching the IBX Behavioral Well being Community
We now have expanded the IBX behavioral well being community by practically 50 p.c since 2022 to make sure improved entry for each in-person and digital care choices. The robust relationships we’ve constructed with these behavioral well being suppliers ensures our members have quick entry to care with confirmed evidence-based approaches for kids, adolescents, younger adults, and households. Listed below are a few of them.
Little Otter
Little Otter makes use of a family-first method, which acknowledges that when one a part of a household unit struggles, it could actually impression everybody. They provide digital psychological well being care for kids ages 0 – 14 and their households, together with remedy and psychiatry. Little Otter’s personalized method features a complete platform that mixes on a regular basis wellness instruments with an award-winning youngster remedy app. Their web site additionally gives myriad resources for households.
Blackbird Well being
Blackbird Health offers diagnostic evaluations and remedy for teenagers ages 2 – 26 who’re combating social, developmental, and school-related challenges. They provide each digital and in-person care. Companies embody treatment administration and discuss remedy. Blackbird focuses on treating anxiousness, despair, consideration deficit dysfunction, behavioral issues, autism evaluations, bipolar dysfunction, and developmental variations (e.g., speech/language, sensory/motor).
Handspring Well being
Handspring Health makes use of a digital, evidence-based care mannequin to deal with widespread situations affecting youngsters ages 8 – 24, together with despair, household points, anger administration, and youngster behavioral problems. They’ve extremely educated suppliers on employees who concentrate on household psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral remedy, dialectical habits remedy, and different evidence-based approaches. Handspring Well being works intently with neighborhood companions, together with pediatricians and colleges, to make sure coordinated care.
Hopscotch
Hopscotch gives digital care for teenagers ages 1 – 26, together with discuss and play remedy. Hopscotch’s remedy mannequin contains a web-based portal that helps remedy outdoors of reside remedy by means of video games, actions, and mindfulness workouts. Additionally they present parental coaching to caregivers and household remedy.
Joon
Joon is a digital care mannequin designed to handle widespread points skilled by teenagers and younger adults, ages 13 – 26. Their medical staff treats anxiousness, despair, stress, and different psychological well being challenges. Joon has devoted licensed therapists who can present personalised remedy plans. Additionally they supply skill-building sources for sufferers and help for folks, together with non-compulsory check-ins.
IBX Members Are Not Alone
We now have made nice progress in making behavioral well being companies simpler for our members to entry, however we’re not finished. We’ll proceed specializing in younger members and their households and discovering methods to boost the advantages and sources we provide. Most significantly, we wish to educate our members about these companies so that they use them when they should.
1 Daniel G. Whitney, PhD, and Mark D. Peterson, PhD, “US Nationwide and State-Degree Prevalence of Psychological Well being Issues and Disparities of Psychological Well being Care Use in Youngsters,” JAMA
2 State of Psychological Well being in America, mhanational.org.
3 BCBSA Well being of America Youth Psychological Well being Report, 2023.
4 The Implications of COVID-19 for Psychological Well being and Substance Use, KFF.org, March 2023.
5 Nationwide Youngsters’s Hospital, “The Nice Collide: The Affect of Youngsters’s Psychological Well being on the Office,” Nationwide Basis, Feb. 22, 2022.
Little Otter, Blackbird Well being, Handspring Well being, Hopscotch, and Joon are unbiased firms.
