Care Continuity Initiative

Working Together to Protect Continuity of Mental Health Care in Michigan

With Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s announced 2027 changes approaching, we’re bringing people and organizations together to protect continuity of mental health care. Led by Michigan Wellbeing Virtual Clinic, the initiative connects community perspectives, clinical experience, research, and advocacy to develop useful resources, support practical responses, and build pathways for lasting access.

Learn About Our Community Needs Assessment · Collaborate With Us

Why Continuity of Care Matters

A long-standing relationship with a trusted clinician can be an important source of stability. Sudden changes in coverage or losing access to that clinician can interrupt progress, make it harder to ask for help, and leave someone facing the difficult task of starting over. For people with ongoing or complex needs, continuity can be especially important.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s announced policy is scheduled to restrict office-based incident-to reimbursement for limited-licensed behavioral health clinicians beginning March 1, 2027. A transition process offers eligible practices additional time while completing accreditation and facility enrollment.

The potential reach is substantial. A Michigan professional-association assessment warns of effects on thousands of clinicians. Responding limited-licensed providers alone reported serving 5,762 BCBSM clients each week. These survey findings illustrate the concern, rather than measure the full statewide impact.

Reduced opportunities to provide care covered by a major Michigan insurer could make it harder for limited-licensed clinicians to complete the supervised hours needed for full licensure. Delays along that path could contribute to therapist shortages, potentially affecting how many providers Michigan has in the years to come.

Our response brings together advocacy, resources, collaboration, and planning for continued care. We want to help protect established therapeutic relationships, support the clinicians communities rely on, and create practical options so people can stay connected to care as these changes unfold.

Our Plan of Action

Protecting continuity of care takes action now and preparation for the years ahead. Our work connects four priorities:

  • Listen and Learn: Reach out to clients, clinicians, clinics, and community partners through our community needs assessment, while building on existing Michigan research.

  • Connect People With Resources: Develop clear information, share useful supports, and coordinate with organizations already helping people navigate change.

  • Support Informed Advocacy: Bring community concerns and practical recommendations into conversations with professional organizations, decision-makers, and payer representatives.

  • Build Pathways for Continued Care: Advance accreditation and outpatient clinic planning alongside the development of a separate nonprofit home where clinicians and clients could continue working together.

People can contribute to a focused project or a longer-term collaboration. The shared goal is to turn concern about access into useful, coordinated action.

Who We’re Bringing Together

We’re forming a team around a shared commitment to protecting access to mental health care. People and organizations can contribute in different ways, including:

  • Clinics, Practices, and Clinicians: Sharing the realities of delivering care, supporting the workforce, and helping clients maintain established therapeutic relationships.

  • Community Advocates and People With Lived Experience: Bringing perspectives on access barriers, community priorities, and what meaningful continuity of care looks like.

  • Policy Leaders and Change-Makers: Contributing experience in advocacy, community organizing, public policy, and turning shared concerns into practical action.

  • Health Plans and Payer Representatives: Participating in dialogue about reimbursement requirements, implementation concerns, and potential approaches that support access.

  • Researchers, Educators, and Students: Contributing research, evaluation, policy analysis, and learning opportunities grounded in community needs.

  • Funding and Organizational Partners: Offering perspectives on sustainable programs, governance, funding opportunities, and longer-term service models.

We’re inviting participation across these areas as the team develops. Our clinical director helps guide the initiative, with task supervision and field supervision supporting the interns who contribute to its projects.

First Project: Michigan Community Needs Assessment

Our first major project is to learn where continuity of mental health care may be at risk and what support could make a difference. We plan to reach out to clinics, clinicians, professional organizations, and community stakeholders, and gather perspectives from clients and people with lived experience.

What We Want to Understand

  • Clients and Established Care: Who may face interruptions, lose access to a trusted therapist, or need help finding options for ongoing treatment?

  • Clinicians and Supervision: How could changes affect client relationships, supervised practice, and the development of the mental health workforce?

  • Community Access: Where might service gaps grow, especially for people with complex needs or in communities with fewer options?

  • Resources and Preparation: What information, existing services, and practical supports do clients and clinicians need to navigate potential changes?

Graduate interns and other team members will support outreach, review existing research, and help organize what we learn. We intend to share themes and aggregate findings that can guide resources, advocacy, and longer-term solutions. The assessment is being developed; findings are not yet available.

Planning for Lasting Access

Alongside outreach, resources, and advocacy, we’re preparing a pathway for clinicians and clients to continue working together after the announced changes. Michigan Wellbeing is currently pursuing CARF accreditation, one of the recognized accreditation pathways for a Blue Cross-designated outpatient psychiatric clinic.

Creating a Home for Continued Care
Accreditation preparation, appropriate staffing, and facility enrollment are parts of building a clinic model that could enable limited-licensed clinicians to continue providing covered care. Our goal is to help clients remain connected to a clinician they know and trust as the reimbursement rules change.

In parallel, we’re developing a separate nonprofit organizational home focused on accessible care and continuity. This is a longer-term effort alongside Michigan Wellbeing’s current clinic. We’re working through the steps needed to make the model possible and will share confirmed care options as that work progresses.

Graduate Learning With Community Impact

Supervised graduate students can contribute to research, outreach, policy analysis, resource development, and program planning. Potential placements may include Master of Social Work (MSW), Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Health Administration (MHA), and related programs.

MSW opportunities may fit generalist or Advanced Interpersonal Practice learning goals as well as macro practice, depending on the approved placement and supervision. Students do not independently provide psychotherapy through this initiative.

Explore Internship Opportunities · Learn About MSW Field Supervision

The initiative is led by Michigan Wellbeing Virtual Clinic, an integrative teaching clinic supporting whole-person care and clinician development. Its current CARF accreditation work is part of preparing for lasting access. Learn About Our Approach.

  • No. The initiative is led by Michigan Wellbeing Virtual Clinic. Our work responds to the announced policy changes and welcomes dialogue with BCBSM and other stakeholders, without implying sponsorship or endorsement.

  • We plan to review existing Michigan research and advocacy, identify unanswered questions, and coordinate outreach where useful. Community perspectives and aggregate findings can inform practical resources and shared priorities. The assessment is in development, so we are not presenting findings yet.

  • No. The separate nonprofit is a longer-term plan in development. Its structure, services, staffing, funding, and timing remain subject to planning and required approvals.

  • Michigan Wellbeing is pursuing CARF accreditation as part of preparing a clinic model that could help clinicians and clients continue working together. CARF is a recognized accreditation pathway for a Blue Cross-designated outpatient psychiatric clinic. We are working through the staffing and enrollment steps alongside this preparation and will share confirmed care options as they develop.

  • We welcome collaboration on outreach, resource development, and focused research or planning projects. Where appropriate, supervised graduate students may contribute to shared work that fits their approved learning goals, supervision, and the team’s capacity.

  • Potential opportunities include MSW, MPH, MHA, and related graduate programs. MSW learning may include generalist, Advanced Interpersonal Practice, or macro goals. Each placement depends on university approval, the project scope, and appropriate supervision.

  • This page is for learning about the initiative and discussing collaboration. It is not a clinical intake service, crisis service, or an active care-navigation program. For therapy through Michigan Wellbeing, visit Get Started.

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s Build This Together

Have a perspective to share, an existing effort we should learn from, or an idea for a shared project? We welcome conversations with clinics, clinicians, community members, advocates, researchers, educators, health plans, and others invested in continuity of mental health care.

Tell our Clinical Director about your background, the priorities you see, and how you might like to contribute. A focused project or a conversation about your ideas can be a useful place to start.

Connect With Our Clinical Director

Please don’t include confidential client information.