Primary Care: Our De-facto Mental Health System Primary care physicians have known this for decades; our siloed behavioral health system is not up to the task. By 2020, we’ll spend close to a quarter trillion dollars(!) on behavioral health; yet enormous gaps in care remain. Sixty percent of people with a diagnosable behavioral health condition are receiving no care or inadequate care. As a result primary care has become the de-facto behavioral health system, and one in need of transformation and support. Evidence shows that “usual care” for mental health diagnosis, like depression, in primary care often result in poor outcomes for patients and dissatisfaction amongst primary care providers. Uncontrolled behavioral health conditions cause a 2-3 fold increase in overall