Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness

Name

Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness

Legal name

Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness

Website

https://abhw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Behavioral Health Policy Advocacy

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) Management (HLAEAHAB)

Keywords

• Behavioral health policy
• Mental health advocacy
• Substance use disorder
• Health plan association
• Behavioral health parity

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ABHW generates revenue through membership dues from leading health plans including Aetna, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Carelon Behavioral Health, Centene Corporation, Evernorth, Kaiser Permanente, Lucet, Magellan Health, Molina Healthcare, Optum, and PerformCare. Member companies pay dues to participate in advocacy efforts and access the association's policy expertise.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

ABHW is a national membership association that represents health plans providing behavioral health insurance benefits and collectively covers approximately 200 million people. The association advances federal and state policy on mental health and substance use disorder care through advocacy, the annual Advancing Behavioral Health and Policy Summit, the Stamp Out Stigma public education campaign, monthly newsletters, research reports and white papers, educational webinars, and a speaker request program for external engagements.

Product overview

ABHW is a membership-based professional association serving as the leading voice for health plans advancing mental health and substance use disorder policy. Rather than a unified product platform, ABHW offers a portfolio of programs including advocacy services, the annual Advancing Behavioral Health and Policy Summit, the Stamp Out Stigma awareness campaign, monthly newsletters and digests, reports and white papers, educational webinars, and speaker request services. ABHW member companies include national and regional health plans that collectively care for 200 million people, with member organizations such as Aetna, Evernorth, Kaiser Permanente, Optum, Magellan Health, and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stamp Out Stigma: ABHW's campaign to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness and substance use disorders, aimed at helping individuals feel more comfortable seeking treatment and changing the national conversation around mental health and substance use disorders

Products and services

• ABHW Health Plan Membership The core membership offering through which national and regional health plans pay dues to participate in ABHW's policy advocacy, regulatory engagement, peer collaboration, and access to the association's policy expertise on mental health and substance use disorder coverage.
• Advancing Behavioral Health and Policy Summit (Annual Conference) ABHW's annual national conference that brings together health plan leaders, health systems, employers, government agencies, and advocacy organizations to advance policy discussions, sessions, and networking on whole-person behavioral health care.
• ABHW Partners Program (Strategic Policy Partnerships) ABHW's strategic partnership program for organizations seeking to collaborate on policy advancement and value-based care initiatives; Alera Health joined as the inaugural Policy Partner to support ABHW's work on value-based contracting and clinically integrated networks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Telehealth comprises 44% of Medicare behavioral health visits, reaching 4.3-4.5 million individuals nationwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alera HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2026Strategic partnership announced January 26, 2026 to accelerate adoption of innovative payment models promoting access to high-quality, evidence-based care for people with behavioral health disorders. Alera Health's ONEcare Networks bring together behavioral health, medical, and social care organizations to improve outcomes through data-sharing, care coordination, and evidence-based practices. The partnership supports ABHW's long-standing support for value-based contracting and clinically integrated networks as pathways to whole-person care.
• OneFifteenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partnership for Recovery Month collaboration. OneFifteen, a healthcare organization focused on addiction recovery, partnered with ABHW to celebrate Recovery Month and advocate for substance use disorder care access. OneFifteen champions a hybrid care model combining telehealth and in-person treatment options.
• The Healthcare Innovation Company (thINc)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the annual Advancing Behavioral Health and Policy Summit. thINc co-hosted the 2024 Summit with ABHW at the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C., bringing together leaders from health plans, health systems, employers, and government agencies.
• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on advancing pediatric mental health. AACAP's Healthcare Access and Economics Committee collaborates with ABHW on equitable access to psychiatric services for children and adolescents. AACAP experts participated in the 2024 Summit session on innovative strategies for the children and youth mental health crisis.
• Vibrant Emotional HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 988 Lifeline conversation and crisis care. Vibrant Emotional Health is the administrator of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. ABHW conducted an interview with Vibrant exploring the 988 system's evolution, staffing, training, and community integration.
• The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint advocacy on mental health parity issues. ABHW and ERIC co-authored an article on the Road to Achieving Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity, expressing concerns about proposed federal parity rules. Both organizations played instrumental roles in crafting the MHPAEA of 2008.
• The Kennedy ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on parity implementation. Rebecca Bagley from The Kennedy Forum participated in a panel discussion at the 2024 Summit analyzing the final parity rule and its impact on providers, health plans, and patients.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP): AHIP is the national trade association representing health insurance providers. It overlaps significantly with ABHW in membership (many ABHW members are AHIP members) and federal policy advocacy, particularly on Medicare, telehealth, and behavioral health parity.
• National Council for Mental Wellbeing: The National Council is a 3,000+ member trade association for mental health and substance use treatment organizations. It is a direct peer in behavioral health policy advocacy, workforce, and parity work, complementing ABHW's payer-side lens with a provider-side perspective.
• The Kennedy Forum: The Kennedy Forum is a behavioral health advocacy organization focused on mental health parity and addiction policy. It operates as a direct peer in federal and state parity advocacy and has publicly co-engaged with ABHW on parity rule implementation.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots mental health advocacy organization. It is a direct peer in behavioral health policy advocacy, stigma reduction, and convening of the mental health community, frequently engaging on overlapping federal priorities.
• Mental Health America (MHA): Mental Health America is a leading community-based mental health advocacy organization. As a peer in policy advocacy, public education (including stigma reduction), and behavioral health access reform, MHA competes with ABHW for federal influence on overlapping agendas.
• American Telemedicine Association (ATA): ATA is the primary trade association advancing telehealth policy, reimbursement, and clinical standards. ABHW frequently cites ATA's utilization research and shares overlapping telehealth-permanence and tele-mental health policy objectives with it.

Broad incumbents

• American Psychiatric Association: APA is the largest professional association for psychiatrists in the U.S. As a broader incumbent in behavioral health, it operates in the same policy ecosystem — workforce, parity, integrated care — and engages on federal advocacy, though from a clinician rather than payer perspective.
• American Psychological Association (APA Services): APA is the largest professional association representing psychologists. It overlaps with ABHW on federal behavioral health workforce and access advocacy and is a recurring collaborator or counterpart on reimbursement and parity issues.

Others

• National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC): NAIC is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization for state insurance regulators. While not a competitor, NAIC directly shapes parity and behavioral health coverage rules that ABHW and its member plans must comply with, making it the most consequential regulatory counterpart.
• National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD): NASMHPD represents state mental health authorities and operates adjacent to ABHW in federal behavioral health policy. It is a frequent co-advocate and ecosystem participant on crisis services, workforce, and Medicaid behavioral health issues.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ABHWorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/28394448

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness