Blue Cross NC and Mindoula to Expand Access to Mental Health Care

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) has announced a new collaboration with Mindoula to help address the complex health needs of members with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder. The program, Blue Premier Behavioral Health Advanced (BPBHA), leverages Mindoula’s expertise as a tech--enabled behavioral health management company to expand access to behavioral health services and will launch on January 1, 2023.

Blue Cross NC will work with Mindoula to directly address the mental health crisis and health care shortage in North Carolina by providing tech-enabled support that expands outpatient behavioral health care to members in the greater Triangle area, as well as eligible members outside of North Carolina. As a value-based care program, Mindoula aims to reduce hospital admissions for members with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder, and to improve these members’ health and overall quality of life. Value-based care rewards quality, with hospital and provider payments issued based on successful treatments, rather than only taking into account the number of procedures or tests performed. Mindoula will provide clinical services, crisis support and assistance with coordinated care for those in the value-based program.  

Blue Cross NC will identify members who are eligible for Mindoula’s services. Members can also be referred to Mindoula for direct care by hospital psychiatry and medical units, hospital emergency departments, community agencies, crisis support providers, primary care practices, and other in-network providers. 

Beginning in 2023, BPBHA will serve our members in the following North Carolina counties: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Nash, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake, Warren and Wilson. Mindoula may expand its services to other areas of the state in the future.  

Members with a commercial group or individual health plan, Medicare Advantage plan or Federal Employee Program (FEP) plan in these areas will be eligible.