About UMBH

University of Miami Behavioral Health (UMBH) is a not-for-profit program committed to clinical excellence in mental and behavioral health care. We provide our members with the highest quality care and service at affordable and competitive rates.

UMBH was founded in 1993 to manage the behavioral health benefits of University of Miami employees and their dependents. The program has since become one of the most successful academic managed behavioral health care organizations in the country, serving major insurance companies, business and industry, and city and county governments. Our diverse list of enrollees includes commercial HMOs, Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Point of Service Plans (POS), Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPOs), as well as Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Through the past decade, UMBH has developed the infrastructure, knowledge base, and research resources to make it an important integrated part of the University of Miami School of Medicine. From our headquarters in Miami, we work with a comprehensive, community-based network of professionals and facilities throughout South Florida to ensure members receive services that match their unique behavioral health care needs. According to a recent survey, over 90 percent of UMBH members were well-satisfied with the overall level of care and quality of services they received.

UMBH has one of the most comprehensive behavioral health networks in Florida. Over 60 faculty psychiatrists, psychologists, and licensed psychotherapists, plus an additional 565 community-based colleagues, share a common clinical philosophy--to meet members' clinical needs by delivering timely quality care at the appropriate level. Our bio-psychosocial approach to behavioral healthcare integrates behavioral and physical healthcare while emphasizing early intervention. Positive, cost-effective outcomes are maximized through partnerships and an ongoing clinical consultative relationship with our experienced network providers. As a result, UMBH providers are very satisfied with our utilization management process. Their satisfaction with UMBH is also enhanced by the fact that claims are typically paid within 10 to 14 days or less of receipt.

Balancing the bottom line is a constant battle for management. Employee benefits managers must incorporate increasing federal and state regulations into every decision they make. Rising labor costs and unprecedented absenteeism rates, coupled with client deadlines and profit margins, must continually be weighed. As a result, the ability to deliver a competitive, cost effective benefits package becomes increasingly difficult.

The impact of mismanaging these challenges can be staggering, not only for the employee, but also for the employer who must consider potential litigation costs, governmental fines, and the diminishing profits and lowered productivity secondary to stress, substance abuse, and emotional disorders. Unscheduled absences cost employers as much as $500 per employee per year. Furthermore, the frequency of unscheduled absences will continue to increase as our society and family structures become more complex.

UMBH takes a proactive approach in improving the behavioral health care experience for everyone involved, from employers who purchase behavioral health benefits, to providers who deliver the care, and most of all, to the individuals who use the behavioral health care services. Our not-for-profit status enables us to offer the highest quality service at prices competitive with for-profit managed behavioral healthcare companies and sustains our ongoing commitment to quality care.

UMBH strives to be the gold standard in the delivery of quality behavioral health care benefits while assisting health plans and employers in making sound management decisions about these benefits.

Facts for Review:

• Low productivity and high turnover rates cost employers two to three times more than insurance premiums and medical claims.
• Between 1989 and 1995, employer costs for mental and substance abuse disabilities rose an astounding 335 percent more than any other medical expense.
• Today the total cost of mental health disability is estimated at $150 billion annually.
• One in every six employees (17 percent) requires immediate behavioral health assistance.
• Stress is a leading contributor to the development of alcoholism, obesity, suicide, drug addition, cigarette addiction, and other harmful behaviors, which all contribute to increased employee absenteeism.
• Psychological problems account for more than 50 percent of absences from work each year and for the majority of all employee terminations and industrial accidents.