The Signals We Miss:

Why Early Identification Matters in Behavioral Health and Recovery Related Claims

Last night at a standup comedy show, I was struck by how many comedians openly shared stories of substance use, mental health challenges, and recovery, often describing how those experiences affected their health, relationships, and quality of life. Many of the comedians on stage raise their hands and proudly announce their sobriety as part of their set. 

This made me think about how often the early warning signs of behavioral health and substance use go unnoticed until the recovery story is being told in hindsight. 

By the time behavioral health and substance-related costs appear in claims data, the struggle has often been present for months or even years. 

When the Signs Are There, But No One Sees Them

The reality is that most behavioral health and substance use challenges are identified only after significant consequences have already begun to emerge. In fact, overall, about 95% behavioral health and substance use go undetected until it’s almost too late. 

Even when the signs are visible, only about 15% of people who meet criteria for treatment actually receive it. And when a person finally does receive help, it’s often after symptoms have escalated, substance-related illnesses have been diagnosed, emergency room visits have ramped up, relationships and jobs are lost, or criminal justice has become involved. 

Most of these could have been avoided had the person received timely care. 

Looking in the Rearview Mirror

One of the challenges facing employers, health plans, providers, and care teams today is that behavioral health and substance misuse signals are rarely tracked across time or settings in a way that enables earlier intervention. And most of the claims information is received in retrospect. 

Claims tell us what already happened. Diagnoses tell us what condition was identified.

Utilization tells us who has already entered the healthcare system. 

What they don't tell us is often more important. They don't tell us who is quietly struggling. 

They don't tell us who is losing motivation, becoming disengaged, or facing barriers that make treatment less likely to succeed. 

They don't tell us who is resilient and likely to recover quickly, versus who may need additional support. 

Most importantly, they don't tell us whether an intervention is actually improving a person's wellbeing until long after resources have been invested.

Making Early Signals Actionable 

Where the current approach is reactive, Compris is proactive. Rather than relying on crisis, utilization, or claims, Compris uses an evidence-based predictive model that equips care teams to identify risk earlier, enabling timely intervention and a greater opportunity for prevention. When individuals are seen, supported, and connected to care earlier, outcomes improve while avoidable utilization and costs decline.

Breaking the Cycle of Crisis Care

One of the costliest challenges for payers among high-risk populations is the cycle of repeated emergency department visits, detox admissions, and preventable readmissions. That transition from crisis intervention often determines whether recovery continues or the person ends up back in crisis.

Compris helps change that cycle by assessing individuals at critical transition points, such as hospital discharge or after detox. Individuals receive a personalized Wellness Guide, while providers receive a Care Plan with recommended next steps, level-of-care guidance, and information to support coordinated follow-up care. This portable Care Plan can be shared with the next provider, helping ensure continuity of care during a vulnerable period. 

The result is better coordination, more informed follow-up care, and ongoing monitoring that helps keep recovery moving forward. 

Through ongoing reassessments, Compris helps monitor progress, identify emerging risks, and guide timely interventions, reducing relapse, improving treatment adherence, and lowering overall healthcare utilization and costs.

Looking Beyond Diagnosis

Although Compris’ assessment includes 10 of the best standardized behavioral health and addiction screens, its proprietary measures go beyond symptom identification to evaluate the factors most predictive of future outcomes. By measuring risk, resilience, and motivation, Compris helps identify the level of support needed and the likelihood of sustained recovery and well-being.

Compris also tracks progress over time, program placement and effectiveness, and creates measurable outcomes beyond utilization alone. 

Our goal is to help people sooner and more effectively. 

What Changes When We Intervene Earlier?

Being seen, supported, and connected to care earlier, improves quality of life and well-being with a measurable return on investment through reduced emergency department visits, hospitalizations, ineffective treatment pathways, absenteeism, and other avoidable costs.

Early identification is about recognizing change soon enough to respond before problems escalate. It creates opportunities for prevention, reduces strain on providers, health systems, employers, families, and communities, and increases the likelihood of long-term stability and recovery.

Every recovery story has a chapter that came before it, a period when the signs were present but not yet recognized. The opportunity is simple: recognize risk sooner, connect people to the right support earlier, and improve outcomes while reducing avoidable costs and utilization.