Transforming Behavioral Health Care: A Whole-Health Model for Serious Mental Illness

Contributing experts: Corbin Petro and Elizabeth Oudens, MD

Behavioral health is inseparable from physical health. When either is left unaddressed, whole-health is at risk.

Elevance Health’s Comprehensive Care for People with Serious Mental Illness (CCPSMI) program bridges gaps in care through an integrated model that empowers care providers and improves patient outcomes.¹

Integrating Behavioral and Physical Health for Better Outcomes

Serious mental illness (SMI) affects approximately 14.6 million adults in the United States. People living with SMI — including conditions such as major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, substance use disorder, bipolar disorder, eating disorder, and severe anxiety disorder — often experience higher mortality rates, poorer overall health outcomes, and disproportionately high healthcare costs.

By 2030, conditions associated with SMI are projected to cost the healthcare system more than $55 billion annually.²

Traditional systems, divided between behavioral and medical care, often leave critical gaps unaddressed.

CCPSMI changes that — combining predictive analytics, local care teams, and community partnerships to support meaningful, lasting recovery.

A Connected Approach for Complex Needs

CCPSMI integrates behavioral, physical, and social health care to deliver coordinated, whole-person support.

“

CCPSMI allows me to focus on treating the whole person, not just their diagnosis.

Partner psychiatrist, Indiana

How CCPSMI Delivers Results

Better Care, Fewer Crises, Stronger Partnerships

By connecting insights, people, and resources, CCPSMI transforms fragmented care into coordinated, person-centered support for people living with SMI. The model bridges clinical and community settings — helping care teams prevent crises, strengthen recovery, and improve outcomes.

Crisis prevention:
Predictive analytics use health and behavioral data to identify people at risk for crisis before it occurs.

Whole-person care:
Dedicated care coordinators and peer specialists draw from lived experiences to connect behavioral, physical, and social supports to build a foundation of resilience for long-term recovery.

A single, consistent point of contact:
Every person has someone who knows their story and coordinates their care across care providers and resources.

Care provider enablement:
Streamlined tools and shared insights reduce administrative burdens and ensure timely, regular communication across care teams — enabling care providers to focus on clinical care.

For care providers, CCPSMI reduces preventable emergency visits, strengthens treatment plan adherence, and streamlines care coordination — delivering measurable benefits for patients and the systems that serve them.³

Meaningful Results That Improve Care and Lives

Elevance Health and CCPSMI focus on measurable, evidence-based improvements across clinical, quality, and cost benchmarks. The results show the power of coordinated, whole health to improve outcomes, enhance patient experience, and drive affordability.⁴

Advancing Care in Action: A Lifesaving Exchange

During critical moments, access to the right support can change outcomes. Through local 988 services, a Carelon behavioral health specialist helped stabilize and support a patient — showing how timely intervention can change the trajectory of care.

Carelon Behavioral Health brings decades of experience, delivering high-impact crisis solutions across local and state systems.

We manage 24/7 crisis contact centers, oversee crisis system management, and can help improve outcomes with our proprietary Crisis Safety Platform.

Marla Vose had been a Carelon crisis specialist for less than six weeks when a dire text came through from a young man.

Marla Vose:

They were chatting in on this line because they were letting someone know what they were about to do. And they said that they had made the decision that they were going to end their life. And they didn’t think anyone could stop them. They just didn’t feel like anyone heard them anymore.

I did a lot of listening. A lot of empathizing. And I shared a little bit of me to get a lot of him.

I spent an hour and a half with that young man letting him speak his peace. He made the comment that it was the first time that he felt heard in years.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people.

For every person who dies by suicide, 325 people seriously consider suicide.

Marla Vose:

Finally, I just asked him, would you consider walking away from the situation for me? And he said, yeah, I think I can do that.

And then he said: Well, I’m still alive for today. Thank you.

Stories like these are why we prioritize whole health, including access to behavioral health services.

Marla Vose:

While I may say that I feel honored to be part of this, and I am, the real heroes are the ones that actually make the effort to call us, because that means that there’s some part of them that’s not willing to give up yet, and that’s a noble fight.

Care That Builds Trust

The Power of Human Connection

CCPSMI’s impact is best measured by the lives it changes. Across the country, members of our affiliated health plans experience new levels of stability and hope because of dedicated care teams working within this model.

A Human Story Behind Every Metric

One member living with substance use disorder, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was also struggling with unstable housing and chronic illness.

With support from his care manager, he gained stable housing, reconnected with care, and even received new glasses and a bed through Medicaid Flex Funds — small but life-changing steps toward recovery. “It changed everything,” he said. “I’m healthier, sleeping better, and hopeful again.” Today, he’s settled, engaged, and moving forward with optimism — proof that coordinated, compassionate care can change lives.

Partnering Beyond the Clinic

Community Pilots that Expand Access and Impact

Health happens where people live. CCPSMI extends care into the community through pilot programs that build trust, enhance engagement, and sustain recovery. They’re focused on:

Peer-led recovery navigation.
Crisis prevention outreach programs.
Social services coordination.

These programs sustain recovery and reduce avoidable hospital use, creating a seamless ecosystem of support.

Hear Corbin Petro, President of Carelon Behavioral Health, discuss how integrated behavioral health, data, and crisis services are improving care for patients with complex needs.

Listen to Podcast

A Shared Vision for Whole Health

CCPSMI redefines what’s possible when data, compassion, and collaboration converge — enhancing affordability and empowering care providers to deliver truly person-centered care.

Behavioral health integration isn’t just better for patients. It’s essential for sustainable, proactive care systems.

Together, we’re building a future of stronger outcomes and healthier lives through connected, whole-person care.

1 Comprehensive Care for People with Serious Mental Illness (CCPSMI) Program Summary, 2025.
2 Elevance Health Serious Mental Illness Product Business Strategy Report, November 2024.
3 Elevance Health Comprehensive Care for People with Serious Mental Illness (CCPSMI) 2025 Accomplishments and 2026 Strategic Decision Report, December 2025.
4 Elevance Health Monthly Comprehensive Care for People with Serious Mental Illness (CCPSMI) Cost/Trend Dashboard, September 2025.

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