Quick Guide on Behavioral Health Integration Services

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) annually updates Medicare guidelines and payments for services provided by medical treating providers for patients participating in a Collaborative Care program or receiving other behavioral health integration services. This handout summarizes the Medicare codes and guidelines. 

The payment structure may be used to treat patients with any behavioral health condition that is being treated by the billing practitioner, including substance use disorders.

Basic Coding for Integrated Behavioral Health Care

There are different ways to bill for integrated behavioral health care depending on your model and staffing. This handout gives a brief overview of basic CPT and Medicare billing codes for behavioral health integration and Collaborative Care.

Remember to check with your state and all payers to determine the necessary qualifications for the designated billing providers. Not all states or payers reimburse for every code.

Behavioral Health Integration Services Fact Sheet

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have an updated fact sheet detailing codes that can be used to bill for behavioral health integration (BHI) and Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) services.

Frequently Asked Questions for Billing Collaborative Care

Since hosting monthly finance office hours, the AIMS Center has compiled the most asked questions and their answers. Answers address a variety of billing and financing topics including: reimbursement, the CoCM team, general BHI code, patient cost, registry options, telehealth, time tracking and more.
Updated 03/28/2023

Guidance on Verbal Patient Consent and CoCM

Ensuring that a patient understands the Collaborative Care (CoCM) program before agreeing to participate is a crucial task for primary care providers. This resource provides general guidance on obtaining verbal consent from patients to participate in CoCM. Please note that these are general tips and that specific consent requirements may vary by state and patient insurance.