Woburn, MA - Beacon Health Strategies is pleased to announce a new partnership Touchstone Health HMO, Inc, the Medicare Advantage health plan based in New York. Beacon assumed responsibility for managing mental health and substance abuse services for Touchstone’s 14,000 Medicare and dually eligible members on November 1, 2009.

Under the Beacon-Touchstone agreement, Beacon provides a wide variety of services including utilization management, discharge planning, complex case management, and provider contracting and network management services. Members also benefit from Beacon’s unique Psychotropic Drug Intervention Program which promotes best practices in psychotropic prescribing and member compliance with prescribed drug regimens. To ensure the delivery of excellent behavioral health care for Touchstone members, Beacon also provides comprehensive clinical oversight including broad quality management and improvement activities, supported by its proprietary FlexCare Behavioral Health Management System ©.

Bryan D. Birch, Touchstone’s President and CEO recognized Beacon’s capabilities stating, “Beacon seemed different from the very first conversation. We were particularly impressed by their clinical expertise, success with other New York health plans and innovative clinical programs. Their commitment to integrating members’ medical and behavioral health care fits perfectly with our own philosophy.“

Equally pleased, Beacon’s president Timothy R. Murphy adds, “The natural fit between our organizations, in terms of mission, objectives and philosophy, is remarkable. Beacon’s considerable experience with the behavioral health needs of seniors and special needs populations perfectly complements Touchstone’s own exceptional capabilities. We look forward to a long and rewarding partnership with Touchstone.”

Founded in 1996, Beacon Health Strategies is a recognized leader in behavioral health care management. Beacon currently serves more than 2.5 million health plan members in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest. Accredited by both URAC and NCQA, Beacon’s success derives from its ability to meet the unique and complex needs of each health plan partner through customized solutions.

Touchstone Health, based in Manhattan, currently has more than 14,000 Medicare beneficiaries in New York City and in Westchester, Orange, Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Onondaga counties. It was founded in 1998 by a group of neighborhood physicians to bring personalized health care to New York.