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Ohio Medicaid Testing Payment System For Behavioral Health Redesign

The state is redesigning the way mental health and addiction services are covered under health care plans. Those services are critical in fighting the deadly opioid crisis. That means a lot of testing is needed before implementing the new system.

The so-called Behavioral Health Redesign intends to bring these services to national standards and expand access. But it involves compensating those services through a different coding system, which could mean delays in payment.

Ohio’s health-related departments told a panel of lawmakers that they’re in the middle of testing the program to make sure things go smoothly.

Republican Senator Dave Burke is part of that panel. He says these service providers operate on narrow margins and must be paid on time.

“If we had a disruption in the billing cycle because of a coding issue that could be three to four weeks before they find out on a claim that they didn’t get paid.”

The redesign is go into full effect next July.

Copyright 2017 The Statehouse News Bureau

Andy Chow is a general assignment state government reporter who focuses on environmental, energy, agriculture, and education-related issues. He started his journalism career as an associate producer with ABC 6/FOX 28 in Columbus before becoming a producer with WBNS 10TV.