Colorado DOI launches website to improve MH provider access

Abstract

The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) announced that it has created a website in an effort to improve access to mental and behavioral health providers, Longmont‐leader.com reported last week. The new website displays information regarding insurance companies and their respective credentialing and billing policies for mental/behavioral health care providers, detailing the processes they do or don't allow. According to DOI, the agency felt the need to establish the online resource after increasing complaints from local behavioral health providers that experienced barriers to enter and participate in Colorado insurance companies' health care provider networks. Along with the website, the Colorado DOI said it also issued a bulletin notice this summer instructing Colorado insurance companies to adopt credentialing standards that speed up the process and reduce unnecessary administrative tasks for health providers. In addition to grievances from providers, DOI said that it received its fair share of complaints from consumers, who reported that they could not access in‐network behavioral health ser‐vices by using their insurance. To combat the issue, DOI's published bulletin encouraged insurance companies to allow reimbursement of claims by pre‐license and provisional behavioral health candidates. DOI said that this approach could help increase the number of available, in‐network providers, which would improve Coloradans' mental health care access as a result.