The ‘Business Models’ for the Delivery of Public Managed Behavioral Health Care An Assessment

Over the last six years, the behavioral healthcare industry, in general, and public sector delivery systems have undergone enormous change. Slowed in the growth of their commercial and HMO product lines, managed behavioral healthcare organizations (MBHOs) have merged, consolidated and actively pursued public sector business opportunities with a sense of urgency that could not have been foreseen a decade ago. The public sector market has presented challenges to these MBHOs, however, because each managed care project has involved quite different organizational structures and designs.