More Insurers Targeting Postpartum Depression.

BOSTON -- Jamie, a new mother, had not been feeling right since the birth of her baby a few months before. She didn't have the energy to get out of bed, and she was also crying a lot.

But a light started to dawn on her after she received a survey from her health insurer, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts. The survey asked whether she felt anxious or worried for no good reason and if she'd had any difficulty sleeping. She answered most of the questions affirmatively and sent back the survey. A few days later, Mary got a call from a caseworker at Magellan Behavioral Health, a mental health carve-out with which Blue Cross/Blue Shield contracts. The case manager confirmed that Mary appeared to be suffering from postpartum depression (PPD) and arranged for her to see a psychologist for evaluation and treatment.

"If I hadn't gotten that survey and follow-up call, I would never have known what was happening to me," Mary wrote in a letter to the health plan. "I would never have known that I was depressed."

Like Blue Cross/Blue Shield, health plans are paying increased attention to PPD. The disorder occurs in about 10%-12% of new mothers, said Dr. Andrew Rudo, senior vice president for medical services at Magellan in Columbia, Md.

Magellan works with 20 health plans-- including 7 Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans-- to screen new mothers for PPD and get them into treatment. Magellan's program uses the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, a 10-question measurement tool. Each answer is worth 0-3 points; any score above 12 indicates possible depression.

The Massachusetts Blues send the survey to all patients who have been enrolled in the plan's Living Healthy Babies program for expectant mothers. Since the program began in March 2000, ...