As featured in the June eSolutions Newsletter from SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions
As community health centers and behavioral health centers across the nation integrate services, they must develop a financing infrastructure to bill for those services. With support from the SAMHSA Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration program, Care Plus NJ is working toward a sustainable infrastructure to financially sustaining its integration efforts — for the long haul.
The community behavioral health center is persevering to expand behavioral health services to include integrated primary care services. Care Plus NJ maximizes its billing opportunities by ensuring the following:
- Finance staff is trained to bill accurately for primary care services
- Accurate codes in the billing system
- Proper credentialing for prescribers under Medicaid, Medicare, and insurance panels
- Prescribing clinicians have Medicaid and Medicare numbers (to qualify for meaningful use payments in New Jersey, each prescribing clinician must have a Medicaid number rather than use the agency’s Medicaid number)
- Clinical workflow analysis links to billing and reimbursement
- State agencies are educated on billing issues
- Accurate billing and payments for primary care services
- Future business plans prepare for expected developments and health reformsRecently, Care Plus NJ successfully processed its first Medicare claim. And their efforts continue as they work toward using Health and Behavior Assessment/Intervention (HBAI) codes for depression screening by their primary care providers.
Learn more about SAMHSA’s PBHCI program or financing integration efforts from CIHS. For more on Care Plus NJ, visit www.Care Plus NJNewJersey.com.
