Blue Cross Plans Launch National Youth Mental Health Initiative

The nation’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance plans have launched a $10 million educational program with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America “to combat the youth mental health crisis.”

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which represents 34 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies across the country, will invest $10 million over four years to develop educational programs that will train more than 48,000 Boys & Girls Club staff members at some 5,000 clubs across the country by 2026.

It’s the latest effort by healthcare companies and large corporations to address behavioral issues of young Americans at a time of rising violence and school shootings as well as teen suicide. Walmart, for example, has done its own employee training to recognize potential worker behavioral health issues while Walgreens a month ago announced it is expanding access to behavioral health treatment to U.S. schools across the country.

“The United States has been grappling with a growing and alarming youth mental health crisis that demands a multi-faceted approach to provide kids with the tools they need to confront the challenges they face in school, at home and in their everyday lives,” said Kim Keck, president and chief executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which includes Elevance Health, Health Care Service Corp. and Highmark Health among its Blues plan membership. “Between 5,000 Clubs across the country and the Blues’ deep roots in every Zip code, together we are uniquely positioned to intervene early, get kids the help they need, and set them on the path for the future they deserve.”

Aside from such community efforts like the association’s ongoing mental health outreach and the new effort with the Boys & Girls Clubs, health insurers are increasingly melding behavioral healthcare benefits in with medical benefits to “treat the whole person,” as Elevance Health CEO Gail Boudreaux says.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which has access to nationwide insurance claims data from its health plan members, said it found that “diagnosed rates of anxiety among teens within the ages of 13 to 18 years old have increased steadily between 2017 and 2021.” Executives say they hope the partnership creates “sustainable change” in the communities the health plans serve.

“When we come together, I believe we can meaningfully improve children’s lives and turn the tide on today’s youth mental health crisis,” Keck said.