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For years, rural and chronically underserved communities have been asked to do more with less. Fewer providers. Longer travel times. Narrower reimbursement margins. And growing behavioral health needs layered on top of chronic disease, economic instability, and workforce shortages. Against that backdrop, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement of $50 billion in Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) awards  is more than a funding update. It is a si

As the year wraps up, I’ve been thinking about some of the topics featured in the NorthStar Behavioral Health Advisory blog posts over the past few months, and what they say about where behavioral health response is right now and where it's headed. One thing became clear quickly: our response to behavioral health issues don't exist in a vacuum . Policy changes, payer decisions, data, clinical practice, and lived experience are all connected. Each post this year was an attem

Over the past several months, one message has come through loud and clear: for behavioral health organizations to survive—and truly serve their communities—they must diversify how they bring in revenue. This need is growing as organizations prepare for reduced funding from government health plans, shrinking ACA coverage, and smaller pools of philanthropic dollars. So what does revenue diversification actually mean? The honest answer is: it depends. Every organization has a u

Over the weekend of November 8–9, I had the privilege of participating in the Kick-Off for the SAFE Project  Collegiate Recovery Leadership Academy (CRLA)  2026 cohort in Washington, D.C.—a fitting backdrop for students learning to connect their campus initiatives to the broader strategies shaping addiction and recovery systems across our country. This marks my sixth year serving as a mentor , and over that time I’ve witnessed the program’s steady evolution, one that mirrors

By Eric Bailly, LPC, LADC NorthStar Behavioral Health Advisory | Navigating complex social systems so that all communities may thrive When it comes to our healthcare delivery system in the United States, frustration is easy to find. Rising insurance premiums, reduced funding for safety-net programs, and uncertainty surrounding critical access hospitals have become familiar headlines. For those of us working to improve behavioral health access and integration, these challenge

When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was first introduced, it fundamentally reshaped how millions of Americans accessed and paid for healthcare. By expanding the availability of premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies, the ACA not only made coverage attainable for lower- and middle-income individuals, it redefined how behavioral health services could be delivered with consistency and dignity. Now, as Congress debates the future of these subsidies, the stakes could not be

Recently, I stumbled upon a YouTube episode hosted by the popular Dr. Mike , who spent time with Dr. Eric Bender , a psychiatrist known for advising media outlets on accurately depicting mental illness. This is an area I’ve always found fascinating—especially how mental illness and substance misuse are portrayed in movies and television.   I can’t count how many times I’ve been struck by the incredible inaccuracies: movies offering quick, tidy solutions to complex behavioral

Really? What does farming have to do with substance use harm reduction? I’ll connect the dots, I promise. Like many of you, I like to...

As September draws to a close, we wrap up another National Recovery Month —a time when individuals, families, and communities lift up the...

This past weekend, I had the honor of serving as a faculty fellow for The Washington Center ’s 2025 Health Policy Immersion in...

Welcome to The Guiding Star Blog! 35 years ago, I made a decision which transformed my life trajectory, and solidified my path forward....