Over the last decade, many states have taken steps to measure investment in behavioral health care. In California, state law requires the Department of Health Care Access and Information to calculate the percentage of total health care expenditures allocated to behavioral health.

In this paper, Investing in Behavioral Health Care: Lessons from State-Based Efforts (PDF), Freedman HealthCare examines national best practices in behavioral health investment data collection and reporting. The research team reviewed specifications and methodologies used to measure behavioral health investment within 13 identified states, with a goal of supporting HCAI in completing required activities outlined in the statute, including defining the following:

• Categories of payments to behavioral health care providers and practices, including non-claims-based payments, such as alternative payment model payments, which should be included when determining the total amount spent on behavioral health
• Data sources necessary for measurement, using the Health Care Payments Data Program to the greatest extent possible to minimize reporting burdens
• Categories of health care professionals who should be considered behavioral health providers
• Specific procedure codes that should be considered behavioral health services

This paper was originally published as part of CHCF’s Primary Care Matters resource center. Please visit the resource center to access this report’s Appendix B which documents the Current Procedural Terminology, Place of Service and taxonomy, and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems codes that each state uses to define behavioral health care for measurement and reporting.