Managed Care Program Makes Behavioral Health Services Available Via Digital Health for Military Families

Magellan Federal is partnering with NeuroFlow to roll out the latter's digital health platform to US Military members and their families is select locations for on-demand access through a mobile device to behavioral health resources.

A managed care company working with the US Military is launching a digital health program aimed at giving military members and their families on-demand access to discreet and personalized mobile behavioral health services.

Magellan Federal, a subsidiary of Centene’s Magellan Health unit, is partnering with NeuroFlow to make the Philadelphia-based company’s platform available to military families on their smartphone or other mHealth device.

NeuroFlow is one of many companies targeting the behavioral health space with digital health platforms that prompt users to fill out surveys or questionnaires, then deliver reminders, symptom trackers, exercises and other personalized resources.

The strategy is popular in healthcare, which has seen a surge in stress, depression and burnout as a result of the pandemic. Late last year Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health announced a partnership with NeuroFlow to make those resources available to health system staff as well as the university’s staff and students.

Magellan Federal, which handles managed care services for more than 300 US bases, installations and agencies around the world, is turning to the platform to help address high rates of stress among US service members and their families. The idea is to pair this platform with expanded health and wellness services offered by Magellan.

The first phase of the program, expected to take about 18 months, will see the NeuroFlow platform rolled out to families at three installations through the Military & Family Life Counseling (MFLC) program, which is supported by the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy (MC&FP), Office of Military Community Support Programs (MCSP).

Along with giving military members and their families access to confidential resources, the program will also provide de-identified, population-level data to the US Military to help them track behavioral health trends across their network.

“We have the opportunity to proactively recognize and respond to the emotional highs and lows of the American military family,” Chris Molaro, NeuroFlow’s chief executive officer and former Army captain, said in a press release. “We want to pave an easier pathway for seeking support, if necessary, and this collaboration focuses on providing service members and their spouses with a secure, private resource to help close the gap between mental and physical health.”