With a new payment model, CMS may have quietly created the first reimbursement pathway for AI-delivered, value-incentivized behavioral healthcare. Is that a good thing?

In this episode, host Abby Burns and Dr. Tristan Gorrindo delve into how the behavioral healthcare landscape in the U.S. has changed with the pandemic-era explosion of virtual BH platforms, and consider what that change has—and has not—achieved. Then they cast their eyes forward and unpack how the new ACCESS Model out of CMS will be a testing ground for behavioral healthcare transformation: technology-delivered care paid for using outcomes-based payment. Dr. Gorrindo, a pediatric psychiatrist, behavioral health researcher, and Chief Medical Officer of evolvedMD, argues that we should be rooting for the success of the ACCESS Model, while simultaneously anticipating and being ready to act on several avenues of unintended consequences.

The conversation caters to any healthcare leader with a stake in finding a more effective way to pay for clinical care, and in understanding the early innings of AI-enabled care delivery.

In this conversation, Dr. Gorrindo references 9-8-8, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. 988 is “a national hotline offering one-on-one support for mental health, suicide, and substance use-related problems for anyone 24/7.” (SAMHSA.gov) The 988 number has been operational since 2022, and has received nearly 19 million calls. In September 2026 alone, 988 received 536k calls, 163k texts, and 102k chats.

We’re here to help:

• Read Tristan’s JAMA Psychiatry piece | A New CMS Payment Model for AI-Delivered Behavioral Health Care | Health Care Economics, Insurance, Payment | JAMA Psychiatry | JAMA Network
• Episode | Ep. 260: What does progress in behavioral healthcare look like? Three leaders weigh in
• Quick Guide | ACCESS: CMMI's tech-enabled chronic care model
• Expert Insight | Your behavioral health and VBC strategies should work together. Here's why.

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A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.