Utah Behavioral Health Master Plan Overview

Under the direction of the Utah Hospital Association and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, the Utah Behavioral Health Coalition convened to develop a comprehensive and coordinated approach to improving people’s behavioral health. The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, in partnership with Leavitt Partners, a Health Management Associates company, assisted the Utah Behavioral Health Coalition in assessing needs, gaps, and challenges in Utah’s behavioral health systems. This assessment informed the development of the Utah Behavioral Health Master Plan.

The Behavioral Health Master Plan serves as a guide for private and public sectors, systems, and stakeholders striving to create more accessible, equitable, aligned, and effective mental health and substance use disorder systems in Utah. It is a living document to be updated over time.

Growing Demand

Utah ranks 11th highest among states in terms of the share of adults with any mental illness. Additionally, it ranks 3rd highest for adults with serious mental illness, and 4th highest for adults with serious thoughts of suicide. The share of young adults in Utah with poor mental health more than doubled over the last 10 years.

Limited Access to Care

Many Utahns do not have access to the behavioral health care they need. While data show utilization may have improved for some populations, nearly half of Utah’s adults and more than half of Utah’s youth do not receive necessary services or treatment.

Demand Continues to Outweigh Supply

Utah has mental health provider shortages in every county and fewer mental health providers per 100,000 people than the national average. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified pressures on Utah’s limited workforce.

System Fragmentation

Several issues create and exacerbate challenges in Utah’s behavioral health systems. These include a lack of system-level coordination, siloed approaches to addressing behavioral health needs, administrative complexities, ongoing workforce shortages, and a lack of sustainable funding.

Master Plan

Utah’s Behavioral Health Master Plan provides a roadmap for future reform. While some recommended changes may result in state-directed reform, the Master Plan is designed to call attention to high-priority areas and help facilitate solutions by other sectors and private systems as well. A unified approach to system-level reform will help all Utahns have better behavioral health.

Seven Strategic Priorities

The Behavioral Health Master Plan identifies seven strategic priorities:

• Support continued use, implementation, creation, and innovation of evidence-based interventions.
• Strengthen behavioral health prevention and early intervention.
• Integrate physical and behavioral health.
• Improve patient, family, and consumer navigation.
• Continue to build out Utah’s behavioral health crisis and stabilization systems.
• Improve the availability of services and supports for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and complex behavioral health needs and their families.
• Expand, support, and diversify Utah’s behavioral health workforce.

Check out this video for more information.