Horizon Healthcare Services has introduced a new behavioral health integration service called NovaWell, aimed at helping health plans and health systems accelerate behavioral health integration within their existing systems. The announcement, made Monday, highlights Horizon’s commitment to improving access to high-quality behavioral health care and creating systems that better support both mental and physical health needs. Horizon Healthcare Services operates Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ), and several Horizon BCBSNJ leaders are actively involved in NovaWell. The initiative reflects Horizon’s growing focus on behavioral health network management, ensuring coordinated care and optimized access for members.
Bringing Behavioral Health Benefits In-House
NovaWell builds on Horizon Healthcare Services’ successful effort to bring behavioral health benefits management in-house. Previously outsourced to an external company, behavioral health services are now centrally managed, allowing Horizon to take a proactive approach to behavioral health network management. By integrating behavioral health directly into its operations, Horizon can better identify gaps in care, coordinate providers, and improve outcomes for members.
Data-Driven Behavioral Health Solutions
A cornerstone of NovaWell is its reliance on data analytics to improve behavioral health network management. By analyzing claims, health records, and other sources of information, NovaWell identifies gaps in care and directs members to the appropriate services. This data-driven approach ensures that members receive timely support, while health systems gain a comprehensive view of network performance.
NovaWell offers a turnkey solution that expands access to evidence-based behavioral health resources. Its approach emphasizes behavioral health network management, connecting providers, members, and health plans in ways that support integrated care.
“Behavioral health is a deeply personal mission to all of us at NovaWell,” said Suzanne Kunis, CEO and president of NovaWell. “We were not satisfied with the status quo and set out to reimagine our delivery system to create true integration and parity between physical health and behavioral health.”
Kunis, who also serves as vice president of behavioral health at Horizon BCBSNJ, joined the company in 2017 following a more than 20-year career at Magellan Health, a Phoenix-based managed behavioral health organization. Her expertise strengthens NovaWell’s commitment to effective behavioral health network management and improved member outcomes.
Behavioral Health Integration Reduces Costs
Effective behavioral health integration can reduce overall medical expenses by 9% to 17%. By addressing mental health and substance use alongside physical health care, organizations can reduce avoidable hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and costly complications. NovaWell’s focus on behavioral health network management plays a key role in driving these cost reductions by improving coordination and ensuring members receive the right care at the right time.
Horizon BCBSNJ CEO and President Gary St. Hilaire, who also serves as NovaWell’s chairman, emphasized the program’s potential impact. “NovaWell’s approach works to deliver significant reductions in emergency room utilization and total cost of care by improving health outcomes, engagement rates, and health effectiveness scores.”
NovaWell’s Core Products
NovaWell operates through four primary products, each contributing to advanced behavioral health network management:
- Integrated Care, Utilization, and Quality Management System: Evaluates physical, behavioral, and pharmaceutical service inputs to provide a holistic picture of member health.
- NovaConnect: A member-facing tool that assesses individual needs and guides them to self-service behavioral health resources.
- NovaCommunityCare: Connects providers to members with serious mental illness or substance use disorders, ensuring high-risk populations receive targeted care.
- NovaNetwork: Helps health plans strengthen and expand their behavioral health provider networks, a key aspect of effective behavioral health network management.
By combining these tools, NovaWell ensures comprehensive integration across member engagement, provider coordination, and network optimization.
Technology and Analytics in Behavioral Health
NovaWell exemplifies a broader trend of using technology and analytics for effective behavioral health network management. Horizon BCBSNJ has long invested in data-driven care, including programs like Neighbors in Health, to enhance care coordination.
The company has also embraced digital solutions. In July, Horizon BCBSNJ partnered with Valera Health, a digital mental health provider, expanding virtual behavioral health offerings. Since 2018, Horizon BCBSNJ has increased its behavioral health network by 40%, reinforcing its commitment to improving access and strengthening behavioral health network management capabilities.
Policy Incentives and Value-Based Care
Federal Medicare reimbursement rules increasingly reward behavioral health integration, aligning incentives with initiatives like NovaWell. Programs focused on behavioral health management can improve outcomes, reduce unnecessary utilization, and lower total health care costs, making them attractive to both health systems and payers.
Looking Ahead
NovaWell represents Horizon Healthcare Services’ next step in transforming behavioral health delivery. By combining advanced analytics, provider coordination, and strong behavioral health network management, the platform supports integrated, accessible, and equitable care for all members.
For health plans and health systems, NovaWell demonstrates how behavioral health management can drive measurable improvements in quality, efficiency, and patient outcomes—setting a new standard for integrated care across the industry.
