ADVISORS

BFF frequently retains organizations such as RTI, Milliman, and NORC to undertake specific projects.

In addition, BFF regularly receives advice from:

Henry T. Harbin, MD

Dr. Harbin is a psychiatrist with over 40 years of experience in the behavioral health field. He has held a number of senior positions in both public and private health care organizations. He worked for 10 years in the public mental health system in Maryland during the 1980s, serving as Director of the state mental health authority for three of those years. Between 1994 and 2004, Dr. Harbin was CEO or Chairman of two national behavioral healthcare companies – Greenspring Health Services and Magellan Health Services. In 2002, Dr. Harbin served on President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. In 2004, Dr. Harbin served as co-chair of the National Business Group on Health’s work group that produced the Employer’s Guide to Behavioral Health Services. Since 2004, Dr. Harbin has provided health care consulting services to a number of private and public organizations. More recently, he has been an adviser to the Path Forward for Mental Health and Substance Use and several private non-profit and for-profit organizations. He is on the Board of the Mental Health Association of Maryland, Brain Futures, and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. Dr. Harbin co-authored The “Six Step” Parity Compliance Guide for Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitation (NQTL) Requirements (Sept. 2017) and MHTARI's Model Data Request Form (MDRF). He has worked closely with federal regulators since 2009 and has been a subject matter expert consultant with several state Departments of Insurance since 2019 in the enforcement of the federal and state parity laws.

Beth Ann Middlebrook, JD

Beth Ann Middlebrook is a health lawyer specializing in behavioral health law and the owner of B. Middlebrook Consulting, LLC. Ms. Middlebrook’s subject matter expertise includes the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), state parity laws, as well as behavioral health network access and adequacy. She has been an attorney since 1987, practicing as both an associate and partner at private law firms in various specialties until transitioning to health law in 2006. Ms. Middlebrook worked for over 13 years with large behavioral health facilities in Florida and Texas, focusing on MHPAEA, state parity laws, state health insurance-related legislation and commercial behavioral health insurance coverage and reimbursements. She served on the executive committee of the Parity Implementation Coalition from 2010-2015 and was its co-chair in 2016. Ms. Middlebrook was Managing Editor of the Parity Resource Guide for Addiction & Mental Health Consumers, Providers and Advocates (Winter 2015), and co-authored The “Six Step” Parity Compliance Guide for Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitation (NQTL) Requirements (Sept. 2017) and MHTARI's Model Data Request Form (MDRF). She chaired the ABA’s Health Law Section Interest Group on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders from 2013-2016 and chaired its Advisory Board from 2017-2020. She has worked closely with federal regulators since 2009 and has been a subject matter expert consultant with several state Departments of Insurance in the enforcement of the federal and state parity laws.

Brenda Jackson, MPP

Brenda Jackson specializes in policy, program design and implementation and regulatory analysis for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) with a focus on delivery system innovation, value-based purchasing (VBP), Federally Qualified Health Centers, intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) and behavioral health system redesigns and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) policy compliance. Having worked in this field since 1993, Brenda focused on home and community-based services (HCBS), behavioral health, and managed care policy when she was employed by CMS, the State of Kansas, Mercer Government Human Resources Consulting, and Deloitte & Touche Management Consulting. While employed by CMS, Brenda was the Iowa State Representative for three years, and reviewed all Iowa waivers and amendments. Brenda currently advises several behavioral health organizations such as The Bowman Family Foundation, Healthy Minds, and Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. Brenda was a contributing author for MHSUD Issue Briefs for the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute identifying key billing codes for Coordinated Specialty Care (First Episode Psychosis) and Behavioral Health Crisis services and the use of these codes to support parity in reimbursement.

Michael Yuhas, MA

Mr. Yuhas brings to BFF and MHTARI more than three decades of experience working with healthcare start-ups, Behavioral Health Management & Integration, Community Health Work, Social Determinants of Health, Medicaid/Medicare/Dual Eligible populations and healthcare analytics. He founded Integra ServiceConnect, a first-to-market company specializing in engaging high-need individuals in their own communities - identifying and addressing social needs that adversely impact their health, and connecting them with needed healthcare and related services. Mr. Yuhas previously served as CEO of Health Integrated, a FL-based integrated care management company, and held a number of executive leadership roles in Magellan Health Services. He holds a masters degree in Clinical/Community Psychology from Temple University and completed additional graduate training in Psychiatric Epidemiology at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In addition to BFF and MHTARI, Mr. Yuhas serves as an advisor to other private and nonprofit organizations, including the Mental Health Association of Maryland, firsthand, Brain Futures and Tiatros.

Lisa Wells

Ms. Wells serves as BFF and MHTARI's Senior Analyst. She brings to the foundation several years of data analysis and quality improvement experience in the mental health and substance use field and has co-authored multiple BFF/MHTARI publications.