behavioral health

Addiction Treatment Parity Laws May Get an Update Soon - Here's What to Expect

Parity for addiction treatment and mental health care is the law of the land - in theory - but the execution of that reality has been shaky for years. That may soon change.

What's the Top EMR System for Behavioral Health and Addiction Treatment in 2023?

If you’re looking for information on how to find the best EMR system or vendor for your addiction treatment center in 2023, you’ve come to the right place. 

Can Your Behavioral Health EHR Handle Medication Management and Med Pass Workflows?

Do you know how many clicks it takes to enter med passes in your EHR? You can bet the medication techs at your behavioral health organization do.

Here's How to Find the Addiction Treatment Billing Claims Address for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota is still accepting paper billing claims from addiction treatment centers but they are NOT accepting all utilization management forms by mail.

Understanding Addiction Treatment Discharges and Discharge Rules at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

In network providers as well as out of network providers must complete a discharge plan before engaging patients in many addiction treatment services at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

How to Complete Insurance Registration with Florida Blue for Addiction Treatment Centers

Wondering how to get your addiction treatment center started with registration and network registration for Florida Blue?

How to Handle Utilization Reviews with Blue Shield of California for Addiction Treatment

While they’ve done things like make nominal financial contributions to the cause of diversifying the mental healthcare profession, Blue Shield of California is part of a general trend in managed care to minimize costs for insurers by limiting the scope of “medical necessity,” especially when it comes to addiction treatment.

Doing a Pre-Certification or Prior Authorization with Molina HealthCare for Addiction Treatment? Here's What You Need to Know. 

Prior authorization or precertification is required by most health insurance companies for many behavioral healthcare and addiction treatment services, and Molina Healthcare is no exception.

How to Use Humana's Clinical Guidelines for Behavioral Health in Your Addiction Treatment Center's Billing Department

Learn what you can do at your addiction treatment center’s billing department to leverage Humana’s behavioral health clinical guidelines to maximize reimbursements.

5 Tips for Easy Implementation of Your New Behavioral Health EHR

There’s a lot at stake when your organization decides to implement a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. Bringing a new EHR online is more than just an update of your record keeping process—it’s a huge cultural shift for your organization. 

Insurance Is Supposed to Cover Addiction Treatment, But It's Still a Nightmare (Vice)

During an overdose epidemic so large that it is cutting overall life expectancy in the US, you’d think that insurance companies and the healthcare system would be bending over backwards to get people into evidence-based treatment—especially since we have two drugs that are proven to cut the death rate by at least half. In reality, they are doing the opposite. And the barriers they place in the way of treatment are killing people.

3 Ways Your Behavioral Health EHR is Slowly Driving Your Team Crazy

How does your team feel about your EHR?

When you ask for feedback, do you hear buzzy praise or stifled groans?

If it’s the latter, you’re not alone. EHRs are tools. They’re supposed to work for your team, but many providers feel their EHR is the enemy.

The SUPPORT Act and Healthcare Providers—A First Look

The newly enacted SUPPORT Act’s wide-ranging provisions take aim at the entire healthcare continuum, including providers, who will be on the front lines of change as the new law takes effect. The law includes amendments to Medicare and Medicaid, and changes affecting program integrity and transparency reporting of provider payments by drug and device manufacturers and the disposal of unused medication.

The Importance of Accreditation

Accreditation is an important piece of the behavioral health industry puzzle.  Treatment Centers should seek accreditation as soon as they can for many reasons.  While most insurance payers don’t require Treatment Centers to be accredited, some payers have already made the shift to requiring accreditation before they will pay for the service rendered.  Treatment Centers can choose accreditation at the state level through CARF. They can also opt to become accredited through JCAHO, which is accreditation at the national level.

Denials:  The bane of every treatment center’s existence

Let’s face it, denials may be the absolute worst thing to find in the mail, especially if you’ve just opened.  It is discouraging and disheartening to find out you won’t be paid for someone’s treatment; even if it is only one date of service.

Verification of Benefits 101: who, what, where, when and why?

A verification of benefits is the first vital piece of admitting a patient to your facility.  If they don’t have benefits for the treatment they receive, there will be no reimbursement. There are a number of things that can be found out on a verification call; information about patient responsibility, what services are covered, etc.

To be in-network or not to be?

To be in-network or not to be?  This is a question for which many behavioral healthcare facilities struggle to find an answer.  There are so many things to consider before signing any contract, but it can be difficult to know what those things are.  Ultimately, it comes down to the choice of the facility decision-makers, but there are a few things to consider during the process of making a decision.