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Member Engagement Models Reshaping The Economics Of SMI Service Delivery
July 30, 2025 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT
ABOUT THIS EVENT
For health plan executives and policymakers, improving outcomes for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) requires more than clinical intervention—it demands meaningful member engagement. Without it, care plans often falter, leading to preventable hospitalizations, increased emergency department utilization, and escalating costs.
Health care spending for adults with an SMI diagnosis is nearly three times higher than for those without. Much of this cost is driven by unmanaged co-occurring conditions and inconsistent treatment adherence, challenges that can be mitigated through stronger consumer involvement in care planning and execution.1
Join Stuart Buttlaire, former Regional Director of Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine at Kaiser Permanente, and Rick D. Gutierrez, former Vice President, Clinical Strategy and Operations at Easterseals Southern California for a complimentary executive webinar examining how emerging consumer engagement models are reshaping both the clinical and financial outcomes of SMI care. Through real-world case examples, this session will explore the current state of treatment challenges, utilization trends, and innovative strategies that are driving measurable improvements in adherence, access, and total cost of care.
Learning Objectives:
- Deepen understanding of the challenges and benefits of engaging consumers with serious mental illness (SMI), as well as the impact on the cost of care and clinical outcomes in current program models.
- Discover innovative approaches and models that enhance engagement, demonstrate positive clinical outcomes in SMI treatment, and decrease cost of care.
- Gain insights from case studies highlighting successful strategies and the lessons learned from implementation of SMI program models.
- Explore the cost implications for health plans and how improved consumer engagement can reduce overall healthcare cost and improve clinical outcomes.
Reference:
Heather Saunders, R. E. (2025, April 11). 5 key facts about Medicaid coverage for adults with mental illness. KFF. https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/5-key-facts-about-medicaid-coverage-for-adults-with-mental-illness/
FEATURING
Stuart Buttlaire, Ph.D., Vice President, Clinical Excellence and Leadership, OPEN MINDS*
Stuart Buttlaire brings over 35 years of executive, clinical, and policy experience to OPEN MINDS. Dr. Buttlaire has experience in both the public and private sectors of healthcare providing leadership and direction in healthcare delivery. His career has focused on advancing integrated behavioral health and addiction medicine through strategic innovation, system redesign, quality improvement, and sustainable policy reform.
Previously, Dr. Buttlaire was the Regional Director of Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine for Kaiser Permanente. In this role, Dr. oversaw a $200 million portfolio serving 4.6 million members across 23 emergency departments and 33 medical centers. He led development and operations across inpatient, ambulatory, emergency, call center, and contracted community services, supporting more than 2,500 mental health and substance use disorder providers.
Rick D. Gutierrez, Ph.D., Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS*
Rick Gutierrez, Ph.D. brings over 20 years of clinical and operational experience to the OPEN MINDS team. His unique blend of experience has allowed him to drive impactful outcomes in the developmental disability and behavioral health fields.
Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Dr. Gutierrez served as Vice President, Clinical Strategy & Operations at Easterseals Southern California. In this role he oversaw the outpatient Applied Behavior Analysis provider network and Enhanced Care Management in partnership with Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Gutierrez also oversaw START Crisis services, behavioral services for all residential services, negotiation and management of contracts with network providers and payers, and intake and customer service functions including revenue cycle management, benefits and eligibility, and authorization teams. In addition, he developed and monitored the implementation of a strategic plan in collaboration with the Chief Clinical Officer.
Arden Arslanyan, PharmD, Director, Managed Market Liaison, Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.*
Arden Arslanyan, PharmD, has held various clinical roles within Express Scripts supporting Medicare, Commercial, and Workers’ Comp lines of business. He attended Nova Southeastern University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship program in medical information in conjunction with Rutgers and Janssen Scientific Affairs.
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*Stuart Buttlaire and Rick D. Gutierrez are paid consultants of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OAPI). Arden Arslanyan is an employee of OAPI.