The 25% reimbursement cut to 90837 by Regence starts today. The Coalition is tracking the number of clinicians that decide to drop off the panel. OIC has said that they will step in if the network is depleted to the point where it is inadequate.
Please take this short survey so that this data can be provided to OIC.
"The lowering of a reimbursement rate for a procedure, by itself, is not a violation of mental health parity. Many, many providers are experiencing this same sort of reduction, sometimes across the board, sometimes on a particular set of CPT codes or sometimes on just one. OIC will be looking very closely at how this reduction impacts network adequacy, as this change goes into effect on October 1, 2015.
The issue of access to mental health services is a priority for Commissioner Kreidler and the staff here at OIC. We will continue to look for ways that access can be protected and improved, within the current scope of our legal authority."
Other routes to stop the 25% cut to 90837 are being explored. A group of mental health advocates will be meeting with the state Attorney General Bob Ferguson in the next couple weeks to see if he can be of assistance; the federal parity laws delegate parity implementation of the ERISA plans to state attorneys general.