“Big Eight” Recommendations for Improving the Effectiveness of the U.S. Behavioral Health Care System

The purpose of this Open Forum is to highlight strategies that can be implemented by federal health care policy makers to improve the delivery of effective behavioral health care services in the public and private sectors. The recommendations can be accomplished by using existing funds or authorities allocated to federal agencies dealing with the behavioral health system. These recommendations do not require new or additional funding and focus on strategies with a track record for success. The strategies described require relatively small changes but have the potential for big impacts.