Respective Bills Enhance States’ Telehealth Framework for Patients and Clinicians While Ensuring Fair Reimbursement of Services 

Mount Laurel, NJ – January 3, 2022 – Array Behavioral Care, the nation’s largest virtual psychiatry practice and a thought leader in modern behavioral care, commends New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, and state representatives for passing two bills in December that extend telehealth coverage in their states. The bills expand access to telehealth for both patients and providers through payment parity provisions, modality expansions, and inclusion of a wider variety of clinicians who can bill payers for telehealth services.   

“We commend Governor Murphy and Governor DeWine for leading the charge in extending telehealth laws beyond the temporary federal policies, validating telehealth as a permanent fixture in healthcare,” said Array Behavioral Care CEO Geoffrey Boyce. “With both of these bills in place, patients and clinicians can continue to leverage telehealth even after the temporary public health emergency allowances disappear.” 

Telehealth in New Jersey

The passage of New Jersey S-2559 extends payment parity for telehealth services through December 31, 2023, requiring healthcare payers to reimburse providers for telehealth services at the same rates as in-person services. The bill also includes a contingency that rigorous studies be conducted throughout the two-year expansion to inform a longer-term approach to reimbursement of telehealth. The signed legislation comes after months of continued advocacy and dialogue, including a letter to the governor co-authored by Geoffrey Boyce and Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA).  

Ohio House Bill 122, known as the Telemedicine Expansion Act, benefits patients by barring healthcare payers from denying coverage of telehealth services or charging higher out-of-pocket costs for online services. Most notably, the Ohio bill also expands access for clinicians by including more categories of clinicians and provider sites in coverage, such as pharmacists, school psychologists, outpatient hospitals, and ambulatory clinics.        

“The top motivation cited in these bills and statements from officials is telehealth has provided a greater ease of access to care, especially in underserved communities,” added Boyce. “That’s what telehealth does — allow more people to get the care they need, no matter where they are. Elected officials in New Jersey and Ohio have assured their constituents that the telehealth services which have been a lifeline for so many during the COVID-19 pandemic will remain in place for years to come.”  

Both the New Jersey and Ohio bills expand modalities of care that can be reimbursed. The New Jersey bill specifies that audio-only behavioral health care be reimbursed at the same rate as in-person appointments. Additionally, the Ohio Telemedicine Expansion Act establishes that asynchronous care, such as text or chat, must be covered by insurance. Numerous psychology studies demonstrate the effectiveness of telebehavioral care, including data showing that audio-only care reduces depression symptoms.  

Boyce about Telebehavioral care

“Faced with no other choice for medical care amid lockdowns and the ongoing pandemic, patients and clinicians have turned to telehealth to stay in contact and found that it works,” said Boyce. “In many specialties, the data show that the quality of care is maintained via telehealth with added benefits of lower overall costs and greater convenience than in-person care. Since telehealth can maintain quality, or even increase it, while reducing spend and improving the care experience, it must be permanently accessible through insurance coverage, just like any other appointment.”  

Boyce, an advocate for telemedicine access, education and reform, recently spoke on Capitol Hill to advocate for the TREATS Act, Senate Bill 340, in light of the state of emergency in children’s mental health declared by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association. He serves on the advisory board for the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center (MATRC), is a recipient of the American Telemedicine Association’s Industry Leader Award, was appointed to New Jersey Telehealth Review Commission, and participates in several ATA Special Interest Groups and Workgroups. 

About Array Behavioral Care

Array Behavioral Care is the leading and largest virtual psychiatry practice in the country with a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral healthcare. Array is also the exclusive national telebehavioral partner to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Behavioral Health. Array offers telepsychiatry solutions and services across the continuum of care, from hospital to home, through its OnDemand, Scheduled, and AtHome divisions. For more than 20 years, Array has partnered with hundreds of hospitals and health systems, community healthcare organizations, and payers of all sizes to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved individuals, facilities, and communities. As an industry pioneer and established thought leader, Array has helped shape the field, define the standard of care, and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.  

New Senior Director of Therapy Services and Two Additional Clinical Leads Strengthens AtHome Therapy team

MOUNT LAUREL, NJ – Array Behavioral Care, the largest telepsychiatry practice in the country and a thought leader in modern behavioral care, recently appointed Marlene McDermott as Senior Director of Therapy Services. In addition to McDermott’s newly appointed role, Gina Mendez and Joshua Taffet have joined as Clinical Leads for the AtHome Therapy team. Together, they will be instrumental in advancing Array’s therapy management and quality initiatives.

As Senior Director of Therapy Services, McDermott will report to Chief Medical Officer, Dr. James R. Varrell, and continue to manage AtHome's Clinician Success and Care Management functions. Gina Mendez and Josh Taffet will report directly to McDermott in their new roles as Clinical Leads. In offering one-to-one support, conducting quarterly check-in meetings for their caseload of clinicians, and clinical oversight, Mendez and Taffet will co-lead day-to-day operations and continue supporting Array’s growing and thriving Therapy function. Together, the AtHome Therapy team will oversee the standardization and uniformity across therapy treatment and quality measurement processes. Quality initiatives have been shown to improve outcomes for patients, reduce variations in care quality and burden on clinicians, and raise quality standards across all aspects of a clinical organization.

As the demand for mental health care continues to soar, Array has continued to prioritize the growth of a robust clinical leadership team. The clinical leadership team is responsible for making sure Array meets the rising demand for mental health services. Virtual therapy and telebehavorial care lower the barrier for entry for the more than one-third of Americans who live in areas that lack adequate access to mental health professionals. Data shows that telebehavioral care can have just as effective outcomes as in-person care.

Array is committed to fostering a collaborative and best-in-class experience for its clinicians. Array’s clinician network has the flexibility to select among multiple care settings, serve several organizations and the opportunity to work with various patient populations. Array has also established a robust technical and administrative infrastructure to ensure its teams are well connected and highly responsive. In addition to around-the-clock clinical, operational and technical support to help with their care delivery, Array’s user-friendly systems enable clinicians, care navigation teams and personnel at partner sites to seamlessly communicate, collaborate, and build strong relationships.

“The expansion of our clinical leadership team over the past few years is indicative of our commitment to clinical quality. Array prioritizes being a care-focused organization enabled by technology,” explains Dr. Varrell, founder and Chief Medical Officer of Array. “We know a strong clinical leadership team is essential to delivering the highest quality of telebehavioral care.”

About Marlene McDermott, LMFT 

Marlene McDermott brings more than 20 years of clinical experience in the behavioral health industry to her role. Prior to joining Array, Marlene was the co-owner and therapist of Serenity Counseling LLC where she developed strong referral and consultative relationships with area psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health facilities, and hospitals to ensure each patient and family received proper continuity of care. She also served as the Director of Hampton Counseling Center. Marlene earned her Master’s degree from California State University and is currently earning her doctorate from Capella University; expected in Spring 2023.

About Gina Mendez, LCSW

Gina Mendez joined Array in May 2020 as a board certified, licensed clinical social worker offering services to children and adult residents in the state of California. She earned both her Bachelor of Science in Human Services Counseling and Master of Social Work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She works with her patients to ensure they take an active role in creating positive changes in their lives, emphasizing, and building up confidence in their own abilities.

About Joshua Taffet, LCSW

Joshua Taffet is a licensed clinical social worker offering services to adult residents in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. He earned his Bachelor’s in Television, Radio and Film, in addition to Psychology, at Syracuse University, before continuing his clinical education studies at NYU, earning his Master of Social Work. Prior to joining Array, Joshua was part of the clinical leadership team at Rutgers New Jersey's MAT Center of Excellence. He works with his patients utilizing a cognitive-behavioral approach and takes pride in being a participant in their growth and wellbeing.

About Array

Array Behavioral Care (formerly InSight + Regroup) is the leading and largest telepsychiatry service provider in the country with a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care. Array offers telepsychiatry solutions and services across the continuum of care from hospital to home with its OnDemand Care, Scheduled Care and AtHome Care divisions. For more than 20 years, Array has partnered with hundreds of hospitals and health systems, community healthcare organizations and payers of all sizes to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved individuals, facilities and communities. As an industry pioneer and established thought leader, Array has helped shape the field, define the standard of care and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.

VCU’s Tappahannock Hospital is Second in VCU Health System to Receive 24/7 Telepsychiatry Coverage from Array

Tappahannock, VA – VCU Tappahannock Hospital today announced a telepsychiatry program that will support patients with mental health needs with access to timely, high-quality behavioral health services in partnership with Array Behavioral Care, the largest telepsychiatry practice in the country and a thought leader in modern behavioral health care. With new around-the-clock psychiatric services delivered through in-hospital videoconferencing, VCU Tappahannock Hospital will integrate Array’s experienced behavioral health clinicians across its emergency department, medical, and surgical units. The partnership will deliver more timely, proficient, and appropriate coverage to Essex County patients and help address the growing mental health crisis in this rural area of the state.

Telepsychiatry Partnership and Patient Access to Psychiatric Services in Virginia

The innovative program at VCU Tappahannock Hospital implements on-demand telepsychiatry services for patients and support for onsite staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This virtualized model has been proven to be an efficient, convenient, and cost-effective form of mental health care delivery to safely expand psychiatric care and overcome staffing shortages of in-person psychiatric providers. Array’s licensed psychiatric clinicians will see VCU Tappahannock’s admitted patients and those in the emergency department online directly and consult with hospitalists on treatment plans, psychiatric evaluations and assessments, disposition decisions, and prescribe medication, if needed.

This program is the second partnership of its kind with the VCU Health. Array has delivered on-demand emergency department telepsychiatry services at VCU’s Community Memorial Hospital in South Hill, VA since May 2020. With this additional clinical support, VCU Tappahannock Hospital will be positioned to shorten wait times, make better use of available beds, improve satisfaction, and help ensure their patients are receiving the most suitable, least restrictive level of care. Array has more than a decade of experience in Virginia helping to reduce psychiatric boarding in emergency departments.

“The increasing rise of mental health cases and needs in our community has stretched the capacity of our resources to support these patients with the specialty services they deserve. Our partnership with Array has helped us meet that need at VCU Health Tappahannock Hospital,” said hospital president Liz Martin.

“From consults and answering questions to direct patient care and rounding for follow-up, Array’s extensive clinical expertise will now enhance our behavioral health capacity in ways our staff and patients at Tappahannock urgently need. I’m confident this program will have a positive impact on our goal to provide safe, high-quality comprehensive care, to include mental health support.”

VCU Health and Array Behavioral Care Telepsychiatry Partnership

The VCU Tappahannock and Array partnership come as there’s been an increase in mental health admissions in emergency departments nationwide and a shortage of behavioral health clinicians available to meet demand. According to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, Emergency Departments across Virginia have reported a nearly 4% statewide increase in the number of patients presenting with behavioral health issues and mental health emergency admissions. At the same time, staffing shortages at Virginia’s mental hospitals have overwhelmed facilitates as the patient population has surged since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are pleased to strengthen our partnership with VCU Health by extending this program to Tappahannock Hospital,” said Array Vice President Liz Bello. “As patients’ mental and behavioral health needs continue to grow, our telepsychiatry services ensures VCU Tappahannock’s onsite care team and their patients don’t have to wait days when they need psychiatric services immediately. This latest extension of Array’s telepsychiatry program continues our commitment to expand access to high quality behavioral health care for facilities and individuals in rural communities.”

Learn more about Array Behavioral Care’s on-demand services for emergency departments, hospitals, and other acute care settings.

About VCU Tappahannock Hospital

VCU Tappahannock Hospital strives every day to earn the community’s trust with state-of-the-art medical care, compassionate professionals and concern for the community they serve. The hospital’s services range from traditional hospital care to intensive care, including sophisticated diagnostics, home care and physician specialists in most fields. On Jan. 1, 2021, this hospital located in the Northern Neck and upper Middle Peninsula region of Virginia joined VCU Health System. To learn more, visit https://www.vcuhealth.org/tappahannock 

About Array

Array Behavioral Care (formerly InSight + Regroup) is the leading and largest telepsychiatry service provider in the country with a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care. Array offers telepsychiatry solutions and services across the continuum of care, from hospital to home, through its OnDemand Care, Scheduled Care and AtHome Care divisions. For more than 20 years, Array has partnered with hundreds of hospitals and health systems, community healthcare organizations and payers of all sizes to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved individuals, facilities, and communities. As an industry pioneer and established thought leader, Array has helped shape the field, define the standard of care and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.

Aetna has announced a partnership with Array Behavioral Care, the largest telepsychiatry provider in the country, to expand Array AtHome's service to all 50 states, reaching 87 million people between all of its partnerships. Array AtHome will provide Aetna members telepsychiatry services, including collaborative care models in up to seven languages.

Becker’s Hospital Review: Aetna Brings Country's Largest Telepsychiatry Practice Into Provider Network

Read the article here.

AtHome Coverage Reaches 87 Million Americans

Mount Laurel, NJ – September 30, 2021 — Array Behavioral Care, the largest telepsychiatry practice in the country and a thought leader in modern behavioral care, announced today its expansion with Aetna, a CVS Health company, as an in-network behavioral health provider for members in all 50 states. With this Aetna expansion, along with its other payers, Array AtHome’s telepsychiatry and behavioral care services are now a covered insurance benefit for 87 million people.

Array has been a telepsychiatry provider to Aetna since 2008 through a legacy company and became an in-network covered benefit for members in 2016, serving 12 states. The new national contract comes after a strong track record of quality care and improving behavioral health outcomes. Among Aetna members, Array has achieved a net promoter score of 62 — nearly twice the healthcare industry’s average — indicating widespread high satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, Array has pioneered collaborative care models, including adult and child telepsychiatry programs, in which primary care providers (PCPs) and Array clinicians collaborate to proactively manage behavioral symptoms to the point of remission.

Array and Aetna Partnership

“Amid the mental health crisis we’re seeing nationwide, we are continuously looking to provide our members with expanded access to evidence-based mental wellbeing services,” said Dr. Hyong Un, Chief Psychiatric and Innovation Officer for Aetna. “Array’s embrace of data-driven care, focused on integration, is a key component of our efforts.  We are excited to further expand our relationship.”

With Array, patients have ongoing access to secure, online video calls with a clinician matched to their needs. Array has the largest and most-trusted virtual team of licensed psychiatry clinicians in the country, including adult and child and adolescent psychiatrists as well as a variety of other licensed behavioral clinicians. From stress to depression, anxiety, trauma and more, Array’s clinicians treat the gamut of behavioral health needs, providing ongoing talk therapy, psychiatric assessment, and medication management, if needed. Array’s clinicians are also fluent in multiple languages, including Spanish, French, Russian, Dutch, Hindi, Farsi and Portuguese, enabling Array to reach a diverse set of patients.

“We’re honored to deepen our partnership with Aetna and extend our services to its members nationwide,” said James R. Varrell, MD, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Array Behavioral Care. “Individuals in need of mental health support can find a behavioral health specialist who suits their needs. And Aetna’s entire network of healthcare professionals, PCPs, and hospitals now has the country’s largest telepsychiatry service organization on their team. This expansion is an important step in our commitment to increasing behavioral health care access to every community in America.”

Array’s telepsychiatry services and solutions have helped transform the behavioral healthcare landscape. People seeking care via Array are connected to ongoing services from the right licensed professional counselor, therapist, or psychiatrist in a matter of days. Learn more about Array AtHome today.

About Array

Array Behavioral Care (formerly InSight + Regroup) is the leading and largest telepsychiatry service provider in the country with a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care. Array offers telepsychiatry solutions and services across the continuum of care, from hospital to home, through its OnDemand, Scheduled and AtHome divisions. For more than 20 years, Array has partnered with hundreds of hospitals and health systems, community healthcare organizations and payers of all sizes to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved individuals, facilities, and communities. As an industry pioneer and established thought leader, Array has helped shape the field, define the standard of care and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.