The Bowman Family Foundation

The Bowman Family Foundation (“BFF”) is a private foundation qualifying as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The primary mission of BFF is to improve the lives of people with mental health and substance use ("MHSU") conditions. BFF also provides funding to support the education and welfare of children.

BFF is the Managing Member of the Mental Health Treatment and Research Institute LLC (“MHTARI”), a tax-exempt subsidiary of BFF which conducts most BFF activities regarding MHSU conditions. 

MHTARI provides funding to support projects, reports and the development of materials and tools related to:

1. Improving health equity – e.g., access to MHSU treatment for people who receive inadequate or no care due to financial or other barriers

2. Improving the effectiveness and availability of digital health "apps" intended to help people with MHSU conditions

BFF and MHTARI do not, themselves, provide or evaluate treatments or conduct clinical trials.

 

Newest Release:

Report regarding a patient-experience survey conducted by NORC, as well as several related studies by others:

  Press Release – New Patient Survey Shows Pervasive Disparities in Access Between Mental Health and Substance Use Versus Physical Health Care: Leading mental health and employer groups come together around health system solutions for the nation's "staggering public health challenge" in mental health
   
  Quotes from Organizations Supporting Recommendations of Report
   
  Report – Equitable Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Care: An Urgent Need: Patient-experience survey shows stark access barriers for mental health versus physical health

 

Improving Health Equity

BFF is a founding partner of The Path Forward for Mental Health and Substance Use, a unique national initiative to achieve health equity for all Americans using a market-driven approach to implementing five key reforms. These reforms will dramatically improve access to, and the quality of, behavioral healthcare.

The following tools and material, funded by MHTARI or other organizations, are intended to assist employers, third party administrators, regulatory agencies, accreditation organizations and others in (i) assessing access to care, quality of care and the cost of care, (ii) ensuring compliance with parity laws, and (iii) gaining awareness of evidence-based approaches that can improve access to, and the effectiveness of, behavioral healthcare while reducing total healthcare costs.

A. Path Forward Materials

  A1. One-page Summary of the Path Forward
   
  A2. Mental Health Access and Parity Recommendations for Plan Sponsors – actions an employer can take to address in-network access to MHSU care and parity compliance
   
  A3. Template Survey of Employees to Evaluate Access to In-Network MHSU Care – a survey employers can use to seek information from employees about their experiences seeking MHSU care
   
  A4. TPA Letters to Accreditation Agencies Regarding Measurement-based Care – letters employers can ask their TPAs to send to the 4 leading accreditation agencies, urging that Measurement-based Care be a requirement for accreditation

B. Network Adequacy – ensuring access to in-network MHSU providers

  B1. 2019 Updated and Expanded Milliman Disparities Research Report, entitled: Addiction and mental health vs. physical health: Widening disparities in network use and reimbursement; A deeper analytical dive and updated results through 2017 for 37 million employees and dependents
   
  B2. Model Data Request Form (MDRF) – used by employers and employer coalitions in requesting targeted, quantitative data from third party administrators for assessment of access to in-network behavioral health providers. A variant of the MDRF is used by several state regulators (see E4). This form will be updated from time to time.
   
  B2(a). MDRF – clicking this link will download a Word document to your computer that contains embedded Excel files
   
  B3. Data from Surveys of Patients Regarding Access to MHSU Care
   
  B3(a). Susan H. Busch and Kelly A. Kyanko: Network Access and Adequacy – Summary of Published and Unpublished Research 2018-2023
   
  B4. National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions 2018 Report, entitled: Achieving Value in Mental Health Support: A Deep Dive Powered by eValue8 – an assessment of the performance of large health insurers and MBHOs with respect to access to in-network behavioral health providers and compliance with the federal parity law

C. The Collaborative Care Model ("CoCM") – the gold-standard approach to improving MHSU clinical outcomes when MHSU care is provided in primary care settings…where most people receive their MHSU care

  C1. CoCM Endorsements by 18 Organizations
   
  C2. Limitations of "Treatment as Usual" for Mental Health and Substance Use in Primary Care – why broadscale implementation of CoCM is critical in order to improve MHSU care

D. Tele-behavioral Care

  D1. 2020 Tele-behavioral Health Brief, entitled: Tele-Behavioral Health for Employees: Pre-COVID Practices and Recommendations for a Post COVID Path Forward – an examination of tele-behavioral health in the United States pre COVID-19, recent changes in policies and practices in response to this pandemic, and the opportunity tele-behavioral health presents to improve access to care

E. Parity Law Compliance – Non-quantitative Treatment Limitations ("NQTLs"):

  E1. Milliman NQTL Compliance Guidelines White Paper – a white paper on NQTL compliant analyses, including regulatory guidance, the six-steps analysis, and the significance of outcomes data and quantitative measures
   
  E2. Six-Steps Parity Guide for NQTL Compliance – a detailed issue brief covering specific types of non-quantitative treatment limitations governed by the federal parity law and regulations, with detailed illustrations to assist issuers, regulators or others
   
  E3. Best Practice Examples for NQTL Compliance with Regulatory Guidance Embedded – a set of examples for regulators and others, illustrating compliant design, application and comparability testing of non-quantitative treatment limitations
   
  E4. UPDATED ISSUE BRIEF: State Regulators' Use of Required Quantitative Data Templates to Assess NQTL Parity Compliance – an issue brief identifying a number of quantitative templates that several state regulators are requiring as they assess NQTL parity compliance
   
  E5. ISSUE BRIEF: Federal Parity Law (MHPAEA): NQTL of In-Network Reimbursement Rates: Non-Comparable Use of Factors of Provider Leverage a/k/a Bargaining Power and Workforce Shortages – an issue brief analyzing how some health insurance plans / carriers define and use the factors of provider leverage and workforce shortages non-comparably and more stringently to support lower in-network reimbursement rates for MHSU providers as compared to M/S providers
   
  E6. Model Hold Harmless Language – sample indemnification/hold harmless clause for use by employers in their vendor contracts with third party administrators, related to parity law compliance
   
  E7. American Psychiatric Association Letter to DOL Encouraging Parity Enforcement

F. Cost Savings – connection between MHSU treatment and Total Healthcare Costs

  F1. 2020 Milliman Report, entitled: How do individuals with behavioral health conditions contribute to physical and total healthcare spending?

 

Improving Digital Apps for Mental Health and Substance Use

BFF founded PsyberGuide, a leading website that evaluates apps. Later, PsyberGuide was donated to One Mind.

MHTARI was the founding sponsor of the Society for Digital Mental Health.

MHTARI was a leading funder of Digital Tools and Solutions for Mental Health, a guide prepared jointly by the Northeast Business Group on Health and PsyberGuide.

Reimbursement of Apps for Mental Health: Findings from Interviews.

 

Contact: Matt.Bowman@TheBowmanFamilyFoundation.org