Executives of health plans agree that 35% of total health care resources are used by the 5% of the population with a behavioral health disorder (see How Do Individuals With Behavioral Health Conditions Contribute To Physical And Total Healthcare Spending? and Concentration Of Healthcare Expenditures And Selected Characteristics Of Persons With High Expenses). What they don’t agree on is the best way to manage the care of those consumers—that’s where population health gets complicated.

The data is very clear—for consumers with mental health conditions, substance use disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), autism, and more. A new study—…