N.M. Admin. Code § 8.321.2.9 - GENERAL PROVIDER INSTRUCTION

A. Health care to New Mexico (NM) eligible recipients is furnished by a variety of providers and provider groups. The reimbursement for these services is administered by the HCA medical assistance division (MAD). Upon approval of a NM MAD provider participation agreement (PPA) a licensed practitioner, a facility or other providers of services that meet applicable requirements are eligible to be reimbursed for furnishing MAD covered services to an eligible recipient. A provider must be approved before submitting a claim for payment to the MAD claims processing contractors. Information necessary to participate in health care programs administered by HCA or its authorized agents, including NM administrative code (NMAC) program rules, program policy manuals, billing instructions, supplements, utilization review (UR) instructions, and other pertinent materials is available on the HCA website, on other program specific websites or in hard copy format. When approved, a provider receives instructions on how to access these documents. It is the provider's responsibility to access these instructions, to understand the information provided and to comply with the requirements. The provider must contact HCA or its authorized agents to obtain answers to questions related to the material or not covered by the material. To be eligible for reimbursement, providers and practitioners must adhere to the provisions of their MAD PPA and all applicable statutes, regulations, rules, and executive orders. MAD or its selected claims processing contractor issues payment to a provider using the electronic funds transfer (EFT) only. Providers must supply necessary information as outlined in the PPA for payment to be made.

B. Services must be provided within the licensure for each facility and scope of practice for each provider and supervising or rendering practitioner. Services must be in compliance with the statutes, rules and regulations of the applicable practice act. Providers must be eligible for reimbursement as described in 8.310.2 NMAC and 8.310.3 NMAC.

C. The following independent providers with active licenses are eligible to be reimbursed directly for providing MAD covered behavioral health professional services unless otherwise restricted or limited by NMAC rules:

(1) a physician licensed by the board of medical examiners or board of osteopathy who is board eligible, or board certified in psychiatry, to include the groups they form;

(2) a psychologist (Ph.D., Psy.D. or Ed.D.) licensed as a clinical psychologist by the NM regulation and licensing department's (RLD) board of psychologist examiners, to include the groups they form;

(3) a licensed independent social worker (LISW) or a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) licensed by RLD's board of social work examiners, to include the groups they form;

(4) a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC) licensed by RLD's counseling and therapy practice board, to include the groups they form;

(5) a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) licensed by RLD's counseling and therapy practice board, to include the groups they form;

(6) a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor (LADAC) licensed by RLD's counseling and therapy practice board or a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor (CADC) certified by the NM credentialing board for behavioral health professionals (CBBHP). Independent practice is for alcohol and substance use diagnoses only. The LADAC or CADC may provide therapeutic services that may include treatment of clients with co-occurring disorders or dual diagnoses in an integrated behavioral health setting in which an interdisciplinary team has developed an interdisciplinary treatment plan that is co-authorized by an independently licensed counselor or therapist. The treatment of a mental health disorder must be supervised by an independently licensed counselor or therapist; or

(7) a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) or a certified nurse practitioner (CNP) licensed by the NM board of nursing and certified in psychiatric nursing by a national nursing organization, to include the groups they form, who can furnish services to adults or children as their certification permits; or

(8) a licensed professional art therapist (LPAT) licensed by RLD's counseling and therapy practice board, and certified for independent practice by the art therapy credentials board (ATCB);

(9) an occupational therapist licensed by the RLD board of examiners for occupational therapy; who is facilitating occupational performance and managing an individual's mental health functioning and performance in accordance with the NM occupational therapy act; or

(10) an out-of-state provider rendering a service from out-of-state must meet their state's licensing and certification requirements which are acceptable when deemed by MAD to be substantially equivalent to the license.

D. The following agencies are eligible to be reimbursed for providing behavioral health professional services when all conditions for providing services are met:

(1) a community mental health center (CMHC);

(2) a federally qualified health center (FQHC);

(3) an Indian health service (IHS) hospital, clinic or FQHC;

(4) a PL 93-638 tribally operated hospital, clinic or FQHC;

(5) to the extent not covered by Paragraphs (3) and (4) of Subsection D of 8.321.2.9 NMAC above, an "Indian health care provider (IHCP)" defined in 42 code of federal regulations §438.14(a).

(6) a children, youth and families department (CYFD) facility;

(7) a hospital and its outpatient facility;

(8) a core service agency (CSA);

(9) a CareLink NM health home (CLNM HH);

(10) a crisis triage center licensed by the department of health (DOH);

(11) a behavioral health agency (BHA);

(12) an opioid treatment program in a methadone clinic;

(13) a political subdivision of the state of NM;

(14) a crisis services community provider as a BHA; and

(15) a school based health center.

E. A behavioral health service rendered by a licensed practitioner listed in Paragraph (2) of Subsection E of 8.321.2.9 NMAC whose scope of licensure does not allow them to practice independently or a non-licensed practitioner listed in Paragraph (3) of Subsection E of 8.321.2.9 NMAC is covered to the same extent as if rendered by a practitioner licensed for independent practice, when the supervisory requirements are met consistent with the practitioner's licensing board within their scope of practice and the service is provided through and billed by one of the provider agencies listed in numbers Paragraphs (1) through (15) of Subsection D of 8.321.2.9 NMAC. All services must be delivered according to the medicaid regulation and current version of the BH policy and billing manual. If the service is an evaluation, assessment, or therapy service rendere d by the practitioner and supervised by an independently licensed practitioner, the independently licensed practitioner's practice board must specifically allow them to supervise the non-independent practitioner.

(1) Specialized behavioral health services, other than evaluation, assessment, or therapy services, may have specific rendering practitioner requirements which are detailed in each behavioral health services section of 8.321.2.9 NMAC.

(2) The non-independently licensed rendering practitioner with an active license must be one of the following:

(a) a licensed master of social work (LMSW) licensed by RLD's board of social work examiners;

(b) a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) licensed by RLD's counseling and therapy practice board;

(c) a licensed professional mental health counselor (LPC) licensed by RLD's examiner board;

(d) a licensed associate marriage and family therapist (LAMFT) licensed by RLD's examiner board;

(e) a psychologist associate licensed by the RLD's psychologist examiners board;

(f) a licensed substance abuse associate (LSAA) licensed by RLD's counseling and therapy practice board will be eligible for reimbursement aligned with each tier level of designated scope of practice determined by the board;

(g) a registered nurse (RN) licensed by the NM board of nursing under the supervision of a certified nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or physician; or

(h) a licensed physician assistant certified by the state of NM if supervised by a behavioral health physician or DO licensed by RLD's examiner board.

(3) Non-licensed practitioners working under RLD board approved supervisor, must be one of the following:

(a) a master's level behavioral health intern;

(b) a psychology intern including psychology practicum students, pre-doctoral internship;

(c) a pre-licensure psychology post doctorate student;

(d) a certified peer support worker;

(e) a certified family peer support worker;

(f) a certified youth peer support specialist;

(g) a community support worker (CSW);

(h) a community health worker (CHW);

(i) a tribal community health representative (TCHR); or

(j) a provisional or temporarily licensed master's level behavioral health professional.

(4) The rendering practitioner must be enrolled as a MAD provider.

F. An eligible recipient under 21 years of age may be identified through a tot to teen health check, self-referral, referral from an agency (such as a public school, childcare provider, or other practitioner) when they are experiencing behavioral health concerns.

G. Either as a separate service or a component of a treatment plan or a bundled service, the following services are not MAD covered benefits:

(1) hypnotherapy;

(2) biofeedback;

(3) conditions that do not meet the standard of medical necessity as defined in 8.302.1 NMAC;

(4) educational or vocational services related to traditional academic subjects or vocational training;

(5) experimental or investigational procedures, technologies or non-drug therapies and related services;

(6) activity therapy, group activities and other services which are primarily recreational or diversional in nature;

(7) electroconvulsive therapy;

(8) services provided by a behavioral health practitioner who is not in compliance with the statutes, regulations, rules or renders services outside their scope of practice;

(9) treatment of intellectual disabilities alone;

(10) services not considered medically necessary for the condition of the eligible recipient;

(11) services for which prior authorization is required but was not obtained; and

(12) milieu therapy.

H. All behavioral health services must meet the definition of medical necessity found in 8.302.1 NMAC. Performance of a MAD covered behavioral health service cannot be delegated to a provider or practitioner not licensed for independent practice except as specified within this rule, within their practice board's scope and practice and in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local statutes, laws, and rules. When a service is performed by a supervised practitioner, the supervision of the service cannot be billed separately or additionally. Other than agencies as allowed in Subsections D and E of 8.321.2.9 NMAC, a behavioral health provider cannot, themselves, as a rendering provider, bill for a service for which they were providing supervision, and the service was in part or wholly performed by a different individual. Behavioral health services are reimbursed as follows, except when otherwise described within a particular specialized service's reimbursement section.

(1) Once enrolled, a provider receives instructions on how to access documentation, billing, and claims processing information. Reimbursement is made to a provider for covered services at the lesser of the following:

(a) the MAD fee schedule for the specific service or procedure; or

(b) the provider's billed charge. The provider's billed charge must be its usual and customary charge for services ("usual and customary charge" refers to the amount that the individual provider charges the general public in the majority of cases for a specific procedure or service).

(2) Reimbursement is made for an Indian health service (IHS) agency, a PL 93-638 tribal health facility, a federally qualified health center (FQHC), any other "Indian health care provider (IHCP)" as defined in 42 Code of Federal Regulations §438.14(a), rural health clinic, or hospital-based rural health clinic by following its federal guidelines and special provisions as detailed in 8.310.4 and 8.310.12 NMAC.

I. All behavioral health services are subject to utilization review for medical necessity and program compliance. Reviews can be performed before services are furnished, after service is furnished but before a payment is made, or after the payment is made; see 8.310.2 NMAC. The provider must contact HCA or its authorized agents to request UR instructions. It is the provider's and practitioner's responsibility to access these instructions or ask for paper copies to be provided, to understand the information provided, to comply with the requirements, and to obtain answers to questions not covered by these materials. When services are billed to and paid by a coordinated services contractor authorized by HCA, the provider must follow that contractor's instructions for authorization of services. A specialized behavioral health service may have additional prior authorization requirements listed in that service's prior authorization subsection. All prior authorization procedures must follow federal parity law.

J. For an eligible recipient to access behavioral health services, a practitioner must complete a diagnostic evaluation, progress and treatment notes and teaming notes, if indicated. Exceptions to this whereby a treatment or set of treatments may be performed before a diagnostic evaluation has been done, utilizing a provisional diagnosis based on screening results are outlined in 8.321.2.15, 8.321.2.19 and 8.321.2.35 NMAC and in the BH policy and billing manual. For a limited set of treatments, (i.e. four or less), no treatment plan is required. All documentation must be signed, dated and placed in the eligible recipient's file. All documentation must be made available for review by HCA or its designees in the eligible recipient's file (see the BH policy and billing manual for specific instructions).

K. For recipients meeting the NM state definition of serious mental illness (SMI) for adults or severe emotional disturbances (SED) for recipients under 18 years of age or a substance use disorder (SUD) for any age, a comprehensive assessment or diagnostic evaluation and treatment plan must be completed (see the BH policy and billing manual for specific instructions).

(1) A comprehensive assessment and treatment plan can only be billed by the agencies listed in Subsection D of 8.321.2.9 NMAC.

(2) Behavioral health treatment plans can be developed by individuals employed by the agency who have Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) training, are working within their scope of practice, and are working under the supervision of the rendering provider who must be a RLD board approved supervisor.

(3) A comprehensive assessment and treatment plan cannot be billed if care coordination is being billed through bundled service packages such as case rates, value-based purchasing agreements, high fidelity wraparound or CareLink NM (CLNM) health homes.

L. MAD covers treatment plans, and updates, created with interdisciplinary teams for out-patient recipients meeting the NM state definition for SMI, SED, or SUD in which multiple provider disciplines are engaged to address co-occurring conditions, or other social determinants of health.

(1) Coverage, purpose and frequency of interdisciplinary team meetings:

(a) provides the central learning, decision-making, and service integrating elements that weave practice functions together into a coherent effort for helping a recipient meet needs and achieve life goals; and

(b) covered team meetings resulting in treatment plan changes or updates are limited to an annual review, when recipient conditions change, or at critical decision points in the recipient's progress to recovery.

(2) The team consists of:

(a) a lead agency, which must be one of the agencies listed in Subsection D of 8.321.2.9 NMAC. This agency has a designated and qualified team lead who prepares team members, convenes and organizes meetings, facilitates the team decision-making process, and follows up on commitments made;

(b) a participating provider that is a MAD enrolled provider that is either already treating the recipient or is new to the case and has the expertise pertinent to the needs of the individual. This provider may practice within the same agency but in a differing discipline, or outside of the lead agency;

(c) other participating providers not enrolled with MAD, other subject matter experts, and relevant family and natural supports may be part of the team, but are not reimbursed through MAD; and

(d) the recipient, who is the subject of this treatment plan update, must be a participating member of every teaming meeting.

(3) Reimbursement:

(a) only the team lead and two other MAD enrolled participating providers or agencies may bill for the interdisciplinary team update. When more than three MAD enrolled providers are engaged within the session, the team decides who will bill based on the level of effort or change within their own discipline.

(b) when the team lead and only one other provider meet to update the treatment plan, the definition of teaming is not met and the treatment plan update may not be billed using the interdisciplinary teaming codes.

(c) the six elements of teaming may be performed by using a variety of media (with the person's knowledge and consent) e.g., texting members to update them on an emergent event; using email communications to ask or answer questions; sharing assessments, plans and reports; conducting conference calls via telephone; using telehealth platforms conferences; and, conducting face-to-face meetings with the person present when key decisions are made. Only conducting the final face-to-face meeting with the recipient present when key decisions are made that result in the updates to the treatment plan, is a billable event.

(d) when updates to the treatment plan, that was developed within the comprehensive assessment, are developed using the interdisciplinary teaming model described in the BH policy and billing manual, service codes specific for interdisciplinary teaming may be billed. If the teaming model is not used, only the standard codes for updating the treatment plan can be billed. An update to the treatment plan using a teaming method approach and an update to the treatment plan not using the teaming method approach, cannot both be billed.

(e) billing instructions are found in the BH policy and billing manual.

M. For recipients with behavioral health diagnoses and other co-occurring conditions, or other social determinants of health meeting medical necessity, and for whom multiple provider disciplines are engaged, MAD covers treatment plan development and one subsequent update per year for an interdisciplinary team.

(1) The team consists of:

(a) a lead MAD enrolled provider that has primary responsibility for coordinating the interdisciplinary team, convenes and organizes meetings, facilitates the team decision-making process, and follows up on commitments made;

(b) a participating MAD enrolled provider from a different discipline;

(c) other participating providers not enrolled with MAD, other subject matter experts, and relevant family and natural supports may be part of the team, but are not reimbursed through MAD; and

(d) the recipient, who is the subject of this treatment plan development and update, must be a participating member of each team meeting.

(2) Reimbursement:

(a) only the team lead and one other MAD enrolled participating provider may bill for a single session. When more than two MAD enrolled providers are engaged with the session, the team decides who will bill based on the level of effort or change within their own discipline;

(b) this treatment plan development and subsequent update to the original plan can only be billed twice within one year; and

(c) billing instructions are found in the BH policy and billing manual.

N. All specialized behavioral health services should be delivered in the least restrictive setting. Least restrictive settings will differ between services and facilities and are generally defined as a physical setting which places the least restraint on the client's freedom of movement and opportunity for independence and enables an individual to function with as much choice and self-direction as safely appropriate. In addition, access to or receipt of one service may not be contingent on requiring an individual to obtain or utilize any other service; for example, a housing service may not require a treatment component, nor may an outpatient treatment service require participation in housing. Multiple services may be encouraged, under appropriate circumstances, but may not be required.

O. Site visits must be conducted for specialized behavioral health services. Site visit requirements are outlined in the BH policy and billing manual.

Notes

N.M. Admin. Code § 8.321.2.9

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXX, Issue 23, December 17, 2019, eff. 1/1/2020, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXII, Issue 15, August 10, 2021, eff. 8/10/2021, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXV, Issue 23, December 10, 2024, eff. 12/10/2024