Understanding the ASAM Level of Care Certification for addiction treatment providers

Unlike The Joint Commission’s accreditation program or CARF’s accreditation program, the ASAM Level of Care Certification program looks specifically at how a program fits into the ASAM Criteria.

Top 5 questions we get asked about Joint Commission certification for addiction treatment

TJC certification not only raises your organization’s profile within the behavioral health community, in many states it also makes your organization eligible for Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.

How to Turn Your Practice into an Addiction Treatment Center in Ohio

Compliance, Facility Operations, How to Guides, The Treatment Community

If you're considering expanding your existing medical or mental health practice into a full-fledged addiction treatment center in Ohio, you're making a timely decision. The state is facing a significant challenge with substance abuse, particularly opioids, and there's a growing need for quality treatment options.

Recent data shows that in 2019, an estimated 4,028 people died of unintentional drug overdose in Ohio, a 7% increase from the previous year. The African American community has been particularly hard hit, with opioid-related deaths increasing by 38% between 2018 and 2019.

These sobering statistics underscore the urgent need for more addiction treatment services in Ohio. If you're ready to take your practice to the next level and help address this crisis, here's what you need to know about transitioning to an addiction treatment center in the Buckeye State.

Understanding Ohio's Licensing Requirements for Addiction Treatment Providers

As of 2019, Ohio state code 5119.35 requires most addiction treatment providers to obtain state licensure. This includes entities providing residential, outpatient, or withdrawal management services.

If you're currently operating as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or group practice, you may be exempt from this requirement. However, as you transition into a full treatment center, you'll likely need to obtain certification from the state.

Navigating the Certification Process

In Ohio, addiction treatment providers seeking certification are referred to as "Community Behavioral Health Agencies." This terminology is used by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, which oversees the certification process.

To begin the certification process, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the Licensure and Certification Tracking System (LACTS). This online portal is where you'll submit your application and track its progress.

Steps to Transition Your Practice into a Treatment Center

  1. Assess Your Current Practice: Evaluate your existing services, staff, and facilities to determine what changes are needed to meet the requirements of a full treatment center.

  2. Develop a Transition Plan: Create a detailed plan outlining the steps needed to expand your services, hire additional staff, and modify your facilities if necessary.

  3. Create an OH|ID Account: To access LACTS, you'll need to create an OH|ID account. This can be done with or without an Ohio State Driver's License.

  4. Register Your Organization: Once you have an OH|ID account, sign into the OhioMHAS Portal to register your organization and begin the application process.

  5. Request Access to LACTS: After registering your organization, you'll need to request access to LACTS. This can be done through the iPortal Dashboard by selecting the LACTS (Organization Administrator) icon under "My Applications."

  6. Complete the Application: Work through the LACTS application, providing all required information about your expanded services, staff qualifications, and facilities.

  7. Prepare for Inspection: Once your application is submitted, prepare for a potential on-site inspection to verify compliance with state regulations.

For more detailed guidance on using LACTS, refer to the LACTS Organization Admin User Guide.

Considerations for Expanding Your Practice

As you transition your practice into a treatment center, keep these factors in mind:

  • Staffing: You may need to hire additional staff with specialized addiction treatment expertise.

  • Facilities: Assess whether your current facilities can accommodate group therapy sessions and other treatment modalities.

  • Services: Determine what level of care you'll provide (outpatient, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential) and ensure you meet all requirements for each.

  • Policies and Procedures: Develop comprehensive policies and procedures that align with state regulations for addiction treatment centers.

  • Billing and Insurance: Familiarize yourself with billing procedures for addiction treatment services and consider expanding your accepted insurance plans.

We're Here to Help with Your Transition

Transitioning from a practice to a full addiction treatment center can be complex, but you don't have to navigate it alone. Behave Health is committed to making it easier - and more profitable - to operate evidence-based, results-focused addiction treatment centers.  

Our all-in-one app puts clinical, administration, staff, admissions, alumni, residents, treatment plans, billing, insurance authorizations and more - all at your fingertips. Get your expanded organization off to a strong start from the beginning. Don't let disorganization and chaos stifle your business' potential.

Get your free trial started today and see why more addiction treatment centers prefer Behave Health.

Introducing Behave360 Professional Services for Addiction Treatment Startups

We are excited to announce that Behave Health is launching a new effort to expand and consolidate our startup consulting, accreditation, and licensing services under a single umbrella, called Behave360. 

2024 - Most Commonly Used Addiction Treatment and Behavioral Health CPT Codes for Billing and Reimbursement

When the CMS drops a new update to existing codes, it’s considered a “new codeset” - a shiny new box of codes that addiction treatment billers can use to communicate about services rendered with insurance payers. 

2024 Product Update

Hello Behave Customers!

I wanted to share a look-back at the product progress the Behave Team has accomplished so far in 2024 and the second half of 2023. We got more done than ever before!

Our focus has been on the top feature requests on our roadmap. I am excited to share a long list of key updates that puts Behave All-in-one software in a class of its own. If you haven’t seen our product in a while, please reply to this email or click here to schedule zoom demo today!

Fully Custom Forms

  • Customize your notifications for submissions and updates

  • Variables support for account-wide variables, time variables, and form level variables

  • Complete redesign of the Form Builder UI

  • Addition of Form Inboxes under every relevant record: Clients, Staff, Organizations, Programs and more

  • Support for new custom forms in Client Portal

  • Exports to PDF & CSV

  • Support for signature workflows

  • Support for Addendums

  • New Table Component (like excel tables for capturing structured data)

  • Added support for file uploads

  • and much more!

Customizable Rounds Rosters

  • create your own rounds templates

  • Round Notes

  • Safety Checks

  • test results capture - UA, Breathalyzer, and Vital Signs

  • Medications - administration Logs, Incident Logs, Destruction Logs

  • Bed checks

  • Program compliance checks

Custom Client Workflows Applicants, Admits, Discharges, Re-admits

  • added required steps to the workflows

  • added instructions text to the workflows for leadership to guide staff

  • Added payment method capture to the workflows

  • Added revoking client portal access to discharge workflow

  • Major Calendar Improvements including attendance rosters flowing to clinical notes

  • Now supporting fully customizable clinical, medical, nursing records

  • Automatic monthly electronic verification of benefits checks

  • Behave has updated the GPS feature and released updates to our Android Apps

  • Custom Applications - Support for unlimited applications form version - Have as many different applications forms to use for different scenarios: website, men/womens programs, partner, special populations, etc.

  • Client Grievance Notes in EHR & Client Portal

  • Client Portal supports To-Do and Calendar Event Creation

  • Behave AI Actions

  • Quick Text update to support categories

  • New integrations page settings to centralize all external integrations

  • Behave Community in beta

    • All Partner Bed Dashboard

    • Internal & Shared Data separation

  • Client Portal support for clients self-adding medications to list and new logs

  • Excel Reports - Added hyperlinks to Behave Records in record exports

  • Treatment Plans 2.0

    • Support for multiple plan types: Medical, Clinical, Peer, Case Mgmt

    • Easy linking from treatment plans to clinical & peer notes

  • Added GIRP note type to clinical notes

  • Peer Notes are a new type of note that also support insurance billing as well

  • Medication Incident Logs - to expand the coverage of tracking records

  • Admin HR Notes - for sensitive HR records only viewable by Account Owners and Administrators

  • Data Importers - new customers can import a wide variety of data now to make switching easier!

  • Client Journals built into client portal - gratitude journal, personal journal, personal inventory

Stay tuned for more from Behave Health, we have additional capabilities planned that will make our product even more useful for you!

Ben Weiss - Founder & CEO BehaveHealth.com

2024 Update! Mastering CPT Codes for Residential Addiction Treatment Services: H0017, H0018, H0019

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also known as CMS, released their annual update to CPT/HCPCS codes on September 8th, 2023. 

Medicaid Billing for Massachusetts Addiction Treatment Programs 

You can find the entire range of CPT codes accepted for addiction treatment billing at MassHealth in Subchapter 6 of the MassHealth Substance Use Disorder Treatment Manual, under the header, “Substance Use Disorder Treatment Service Codes.”

Medicaid Billing Secrets for Addiction Treatment in Tennessee

Medicaid in Tennessee is called TennCare. According to a recent study, well over 65% of all addiction treatment centers in Tennessee accept Medicaid. That number is growing about .1% every year, with a total of 297 facilities treating SUD in Tennessee.   

Are You a Good Candidate for Behave Health's Addiction Treatment Startup Program?

Are you thinking of opening an addiction treatment center but don’t know where to start? Welcome. You’ve found your people. Behave Health’s Addiction Treatment Startup Program might be a good fit for you.

Medicaid Billing for Addiction Treatment in Arizona

Medicaid in Arizona is called the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS, for short. The vast majority of services delivered through AHCCCS are delivered by managed care health plans, rather than fee-for-service providers.

Secrets of Medicaid Billing for Addiction Treatment in Washington

The Medicaid program in Washington State is nicknamed Apple Health. Washington Medicaid will reimburse for a wide variety of addiction treatment services.

Medicaid Billing for Addiction Treatment in Georgia

Learn what treatment service categories are covered under Georgia Medicaid, as well as some of the most common CPT codes you’ll encounter when billing Medicaid for addiction treatment services in Georgia. 

Master Medicaid Billing for Addiction Treatment in Michigan

The most common name of Michigan Medicaid is simply Medicaid. However, there are some circumstances where you’ll hear Medicaid plan names such as Healthy Michigan Plan, Children’s Special Health Care Services, MIChild, or Maternity Outpatient Medical Services