Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Pledges $5 million for Rural Behavioral Health Clinic at Minnesota State Mankato

MANKATO, Minn. (September 17 , 2024) – Minnesota State University, Mankato has announced a five-year agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) to support the opening of a unique Rural Behavioral Health Clinic later this year in a location adjacent to campus.

The clinic’s full name will be the Rural Behavioral Health Clinic, located at Minnesota State University, Mankato, made possible by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. The health insurer has pledged $5 million in support of the facility, which will be located at 1600 Warren St. (Suite 6) in Mankato. The Blue Cross pledge follows a Minnesota Legislature allocation in spring 2023 of $1.5 million to establish the clinic, as well as $1 million in recently approved federal funding.

The Rural Behavioral Health Clinic will initially provide in-person mental health counseling, case management and medication management to clients of all ages who are either enrolled in public programs, have commercial health insurance or are uninsured. The service area for the clinic encompasses Minnesota’s southern central region, including Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Watonwan and Waseca counties.

In addition to serving as a community-based outpatient mental health center, the clinic will act as an academic training center for students enrolled in the University’s training programs in the fields of social work, counseling and student personnel, alcohol and drug studies, psychology and nursing.

The Rural Behavioral Health Clinic’s dual role makes it unique in Minnesota, said Minnesota State University, Mankato President Edward Inch.

“There are no other academic training clinics in the state that are also specifically focused on providing integrated outpatient mental health services to rural Minnesotans,” said Inch. “We thank Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota for its commitment and for joining support from the Minnesota legislature and U.S. Senate to provide critical behavioral health care to our region.”

Patricia Marincic, dean of Minnesota State Mankato’s College of Allied Health and Nursing, said the clinic will help meet regional workforce needs by allowing students to train side-by-side with experienced faculty and clinicians in preparation for careers as mental health professionals.

The clinic intends to offer additional services over time, including psychoeducation evaluations and substance use disorder counseling, said Roy Kammer, interim associate dean for the College of Allied Health & Nursing at Minnesota State Mankato. Kammer also said that technology being installed in the clinic will allow for a future expansion of virtual face-to-face client services.

Minnesota State Mankato is in the process of working with the Minnesota Department of Human Services on having the clinic licensed as an outpatient mental health clinic, with a long-term goal of becoming a certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC). Once licensed, the clinic can begin the respective credentialing and contracting processes by Blue Cross and other healthcare payers for network inclusion.

The $5 million Blue Cross pledge for the clinic builds on Blue Cross’ long history of investing in communities and convening meaningful conversations at the local level on ways to maximize individual and public health, said Brett Hart, vice president of behavioral health and mental health parity at Blue Cross.

“Geography should not be a barrier to accessing mental and behavioral health services,” said Hart. “Far too often, especially in greater Minnesota, mental health needs far exceed available resources. Blue Cross wants to help change that. Our support of the Rural Behavioral Health Clinic goes beyond the financial. Blue Cross worked side-by-side with university leadership to make sure we were co-designing a model that would complement current mental health and social service offerings in and around Mankato. Blue Cross is proud to support Minnesota State University, Mankato and its ongoing commitment to train and develop the next generation of mental health professionals for greater Minnesota and other rural areas.”

This is the third pledge that Blue Cross has made to Minnesota State Mankato since 2021.

In April 2023, Blue Cross pledged $600,000 to establish the operational structure and advance the growth of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral Health at the University. The Center opened in the fall of 2022 to improve access to behavioral health care for residents in greater Minnesota, to include residents of recognized reservations.

In December 2021, Blue Cross pledged $500,000 to Minnesota State Mankato to establish a presidential scholarship program and provide annual support for the University’s Health and Biomedical Sciences Summit and Undergraduate Research Center to help build more career pathways for health care practitioners and culturally competent care providers.

The Rural Behavioral Health Clinic, located at Minnesota State University, Mankato, made possible by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, is part of the University’s College of Allied Health and Nursing.