RE: Talking Points for CFHA Members Engaging Policymakers, Medicaid Leaders, and Local Officials

Integrated care—the coordination of medical and behavioral health within primary and specialty settings—is a key solution to the most pressing health issues of our time. It is also perfectly aligned with the vision of Make America Healthy Again (MAHA): the root causes of chronic disease, promoting wellness, and protecting our children and adolescents.

Why Integrated Care Supports the MAHA Platform

Chronic Illness Root-Cause Care

Integrated care treats chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and chronic pain by pairing medical management with behavioral support (e.g., stress reduction, adherence strategies, lifestyle change). It reduces over-reliance on pharmaceuticals and increases patient agency.¹

Pediatric Health and Early Intervention

Behavioral health integration in pediatric settings helps children and families address anxiety, trauma, developmental delays, and family stress—before these become lifelong conditions.²

Prevention and Health Autonomy

Integrated care empowers patients through early intervention, behavior change support, and shared decision-making. It helps prevent escalation of mental health and physical conditions through timely, personalized support.³

Policy Recommendations for State and Federal Leaders

1. Fund Integrated Care Teams in Primary & Pediatric Clinics
   • 1.1. Allocate Medicaid and federal resources to support embedded behavioral health in routine medical care settings including models such as PCBH and CoCM.
2. Build the Workforce for Community-Based, Whole-Person Care
   • 2.1.Invest in training Behavioral Health Consultants, care managers, consulting psychiatrists, peer support specialists and community health workers specifically for primary care and prevention-focused roles.
3. Enable Same-Day, Behavioral Health Support
   • 3.1.Reform payment and regulation to support brief, evidence-based interventions for mental health and substance use—especially in early stages and for populations with poor access to care.
4. Incentivize Measurement-Based Preventive Care
   • 4.1.Promote simple, scalable technology tools to track behavioral health symptoms like we do medical labs—ensuring progress, accountability, and patient-centered planning.

What’s at Stake

• 60% of U.S. adults have a chronic illness
• Pediatric behavioral health crises are escalating
• Substance use deaths and anxiety diagnoses continue to rise

Footnotes

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21190455/ ↩︎
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34807644/ ↩︎
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8412979/
   
   Photo by Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash ↩︎