North Georgia to get mental health pilot program; Kansas City providers decry Blue Cross rate cut

Georgia officials are designing a system for 31 counties that will combine a crisis telephone service and authorization and payment under one roof. In Kansas City, insurance officials say payment cuts bring reimbursement in line with other rates.

Georgia Health News: Managed Care Pilot Coming To Mental Health
First came the closing of a state psychiatric hospital in Rome and the creation of community mental health services in the area. Now mental health services may be revamped further in the North Georgia region, this time with a version of managed care. The state is designing a pilot program for the 31-county region that would combine the functions of a crisis telephone line and the authorizing and paying for mental health services under one roof (Miller, 11/16).

Kansas Health Institute News: Blue Cross Kansas City Cuts Some Rates For Mental Health Providers
Non-physician mental-health counselors in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City's preferred-provider network are smarting from a Nov. 1 pay cut that some say averages nearly 30 percent. ... Blue KC's Senior Vice President of Health Care Services Brian M. Burns said the move was made "in an effort to be more consistent with other rates available in the market" (Hellman, 11/16).