As providers strive to address their patients’ physical and mental health, Integrated Behavioral Health services have gained popularity. These services, sometimes also known as Behavioral Health Integration (BHI), address behavioral health concerns through the patient’s primary care team.
Medicare has reimbursed for Behavioral Health Integration services since 2017 and continues to expand the list of BHI services they will reimburse for. More primary care providers now have the chance to offer BHI to their older patients.
Integrated Behavioral Health Services can make mental healthcare accessible to more patients and ensure patients receive care for all aspects of their health. And because Behavioral Health Integration comes in a variety of forms, your practice can choose one that works for you. Here are five reasons you might want to consider providing BHI to your patients.
1. Integrated Behavioral Health Services Are Accessible
Mental healthcare can be expensive and difficult to access, especially for lower-income patients. Integrated Behavioral Health services are offered through primary care providers, so patients can discuss their mental health needs with a provider they already visit.

Medicare also reimburses for BHI services, including services through Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). This opens mental healthcare up to patients who might struggle to afford or locate it otherwise.
Offering Integrated Behavioral Health services at a primary care office can also help patients who might be deterred by the cultural stigma of seeking out mental healthcare. By offering mental healthcare as part of primary healthcare, your practice can make mental healthcare less intimidating and more accessible.
2. A Variety of Patients Can Benefit from Behavioral Health Integration
BHI includes care for common conditions like depression and anxiety. But it can also address substance use disorders and less widely-diagnosed mental illnesses, like PTSD, OCD, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This means a large number of patients could potentially benefit from ongoing care.
As the provider, you can use clinical judgment to determine when a patient might benefit from Integrated Behavioral Health services. You can implement Integrated Behavioral Health for patients who currently have a mental health diagnosis or for patients who have just received one. Behavioral Health Integration will then help you address the patients’ mental and physical healthcare at the same time.
3. Integrated Behavioral Health Is Whole-person Care
Physical and mental health have a strong connection. Research shows that people with a chronic mental health condition are more likely to have a chronic physical health condition as well.
Mental health struggles may make it more difficult for patients to:
- Change exercise or nutrition habits
- Attend appointments or refill medications
- Try new activities or form new friendships
- Cut back on drinking or smoking
Mental illness can also cause physical health problems. Depression can lead to fatigue, headaches, stomach pain, and insomnia, for example.






