04/02/2024
Offering Behavioral Health Wellness Exams as of 4/1/24
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has introduced a new initiative to try and promote mental and behavioral health wellness. As of 4/1/24, an annual Behavioral Health Wellness Exam is a service that will be covered by your insurance with no out-of-pocket cost to patients. This applies to anyone with insurance provided by a MA company such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard Pilgrim, Tufts, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, and Mass Health. For anyone with a national insurance or out-of-state insurance plan, please check with your insurance provider to determine if this is a covered service.
What is a Behavioral Health Wellness Exam (BHWE)?
This is a visit where the focus will be on development and/or emotional well-being. It is available for patients with no age restrictions. This can be performed by your primary care physician, a nurse practitioner, or a behavioral health provider. There will be times that we will try to incorporate this into your routine well visit or a medication follow-up, however time does not always allow for this at other visits with other competing priorities. You can schedule an additional visit for a BHWE where we will review components of emotional well-being, development, school progress, social media concerns, and family history. These can be scheduled if there are concerns or just as a check-in for you or your child. For a younger child, the focus may be on developmental progress and social functioning. The result could be that there are no current behavioral health concerns or that we need to make plans for follow-up or a more in-depth evaluation. These visits can be repeated on an annual basis.
Why is a BHWE important?
This visit, which will include behavioral health or developmental screens provides either a more comprehensive evaluation at an already scheduled visit or an additional check-in during the year. With the stress of school and activities, social and family factors, online stressors, and pressures to engage in substance abuse, the current environment can be a challenge to kids and adults of all ages. Having this check-in with a medical provider will hopefully help to provide an additional resource to identify issues early on and provide resources and support.
How do I schedule a BHWE?
These visits can be scheduled by calling our office at 617-735-8585, or by submitting an appointment request on Patient Gateway. They can be scheduled with your P*P or with one of our nurse practitioners. These visits can be scheduled for dates on or after 4/1/24. For anyone with a national or out-of-state insurance plan, please check with your insurance company to determine if this is a covered service for you and if there is any out-of-pocket expense.
Feedback?
The BHWE is a new service. Our policies around this may change as we gain experience with providing these visits. We appreciate constructive feedback about the process and whether you find value in this visit.
