Providing integrated behavioral health services in primary care is now considered a priority for health systems as 60–80% of all primary care visits include a behavioral health component. Integrated care typically involves behavioral healthcare workers, such as social workers and psychologists, working on teams with primary care providers to help address behavioral health and social determinants of health alongside physical health. Health systems can increase service utilization of behavioral health services by reducing typical barriers to behavioral health such as stigma and accessibility—key components of integrated health.

This report expands on earlier work by analyzing data after implementation of the Affordable Care Act and after the expansion of the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program, 2014 and 2017 federal initiatives to expand the behavioral health workforce in integrated settings.