The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued a bulletin Jan. 5 to expand the types of providers who can perform Medicaid-covered, non-physician outpatient behavioral health services.
Effective Feb. 4, Medicaid will cover and reimburse outpatient behavioral health services provided by graduates of board-approved master’s or doctoral-level psychology, social work, counseling or marriage and family therapy educational training programs, so long as they have completed the requirements for a limited or temporary license; regardless of whether the license has been issued.
These staff must be supervised by a Medicaid-enrolled, fully licensed provider of the same profession. Services should be billed to Medicaid under this supervising provider, not the graduate.
This time-limited allowance for new graduates is applicable from the date the individual completed their graduate course work for a period not to exceed one year and does not replace the graduate’s obligation of obtaining the appropriate limited or temporary license from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. It is strictly a mechanism to allow behavioral health providers to provide services while they wait for their license to be issued.
Members with questions should contact Lauren LaPine