Behavioral health pilot with Firefly HealthPrimary care for the whole self, when and how patients need it
Overview
Client
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Timeline
12 weeks – pilot design and launch
Role
Lead Designer and Strategist
Designed the end-to-end service experience
Led research, prototyping, and stakeholder alignment
Shaped the behavioral health–forward care model and pilot strategy
Challenge
Amid COVID-19, BCBSMA saw a sharp rise in stress, anxiety, and isolation. Members seeking behavioral health support faced:
Long wait times, fragmented options, and unclear pathways
High emotional barriers to asking for help
Limited awareness of digital and virtual care options
BCBSMA’s broader “patient first experience” strategy needed a concrete, testable way to:
Improve access to behavioral health care
Create a simpler, consumer-focused journey
Leverage digital tools
Research
Pilot success
BCBSMA partnered with Firefly Health to design and launch a behavioral-health solution that enabled a new value-based contract: the practice earns performance bonuses for delivering higher-quality care at lower cost. Firefly became the first small medical practice in the state to adopt this model, expanding the company’s value-based portfolio, improving member access, and aligning payments with measurable outcomes.
Meet Sharon
She’s a woman in her late 40s from the South Shore and has been struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic. Her stress level, anxiety, and isolation during the past year have led her to drink. This resulted in a heavy drinking problem, and she recently checked herself into rehab.
After Sharon left rehab, she sought help from BCBSMA by calling the MAPs team. She knew she could trust BCBSMA to guide her to the appropriate site of care. A MAPs representative named Tony empathetically listened to her and knew Firefly Health was exactly what she needed. Tony transferred Sharon to Kim at Firefly Health and within minutes Sharon registered and booked an appointment with a behavioral health specialist.
The Firefly Pilot helped Sharon successfully address her behavioral health care needs. Within one business, BCBSMA evaluated Sharon’s needs and guided her to Firefly to efficiently access the behavioral health care that Sharon desperately sought.
