According to a new report, the use of the psychiatric collaborative care model (CoCM) in primary care to treat commercially insured individuals with a mental health or substance use (MHSU) diagnosis increased 26-fold between 2018 and 2024. The rate per 100,000 commercially insured members with an MHSU diagnosis rose from 12 in 2018 to 317 in 2024. Over the same period, the number of commercially insured individuals treated through CoCM increased 40-fold, from 3,814 in 2018 to 153,356 in 2024.
Across states, the CoCM use rate per 100,000 commercially insured members with an MHSU diagnosis was highest in Arizona (1,304), Wisconsin (1,175), and Utah (1,013). The rate was fewer than 50 per 100,000 in 16 states.
Under CoCM, the primary care provider (PCP) collaborates with a care team to treat individuals with MHSU conditions. The model includes four core components: a behavioral health care manager working in person or virtually; a psychiatric consultant who provides systematic caseload review, as well as diagnostic and treatment recommendations; measurement-based care with defined treatment targets; and use of a patient registry to track symptoms and interventions, and which is reviewed systematically by the care team.
The average CoCM episode lasts approximately 4.1 months based on a separate database cited in the report. Based on various combinations of billing codes, aggregate provider reimbursement per episode averages between approximately $475 to $650 for Medicare and Medicaid (assuming reimbursement at 100% of Medicare rates) and approximately $760 to $1,040 for commercial plans (assuming reimbursement at 160% of Medicare rates).
According to the report, states with no or restrictive Medicaid reimbursement policies had both low Medicaid and low commercial CoCM utilization.
These findings were reported in Progress Report: Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) by Shatterproof and The Bowman Family Foundation. The study was commissioned by the Mental Health Treatment and Research Institute LLC (MHTARI), a tax-exempt subsidiary of The Bowman Family Foundation. Commercial health plan analyses were based on de-identified, aggregated health care claims data compiled and maintained by FAIR Health Inc. Results of the analysis of such data were provided to MHTARI for analysis by MHTARI. Separately, an analysis of Medicaid and Medicare claims data was requested by MHTARI and conducted by RTI International. Neither FAIR Health nor RTI International is responsible for any of the opinions or recommendations expressed in the study.
The full text of Progress Report: Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) was published on February 14, 2026, by The Bowman Family Foundation. A free copy is available (accessed February 11, 2026).
For more information, contact:
- Holly Jespersen, Senior Manager, Executive Communications, Shatterproof, 56 Broad Street, Suite 14069, Boston, Massachusetts 02109; 800-597-2557; Email: Hjespersen@shatterproof.org; Website: https://www.shatterproof.org/
- Matt Bowman, Communications, The Bowman Family Foundation; Email: Matt.Bowman@TheBowmanFamilyFoundation.org; Website: https://thebowmanfamilyfoundation.org/
March 2026 00US26EUA0007