ATPIAN Announces Launch of Revamped Website: ATPIAN.com
It's official! ATPIAN's announcement of our newly updated website launch hit the presses today. Below is the press release that went out and has already been picked up by several media outlets. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ATPIAN, Consulting Services Exclusively for Autism Treatment Providers, Announces New Website ATPIAN's revamped website offers autism treatment providers a single point of reference for all matters relating to their insurance credentialing, contracting, required cli
Medi-Cal to Cover ABA Therapy Starting September 15th - Yeah, But...
A recent draft letter the State of CA Department of Healthcare Services addressed to all “Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Plans” opened with the following: “PURPOSE: The purpose of this All Plan Letter (APL) is to provide Medi-Cal managed care health plans (MCPs) with interim policy guidance for providing BHT services to Medi-Cal children and adolescent beneficiaries 0 to 21 years of age diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).” The gist of the letter is that starting on S
What I did on my summer vacation: Constructive Ideas for Autism Treatment Providers
Summer is the ideal time to finally get to some of those “I don’t have time now” projects. With clients and their families off on vacations, the absence of academic demands and a generally more relaxed atmosphere, summer is an opportunity to focus on getting your agency’s ducks in line. Imagine the advantages of finally…: creating really “good” report templates – imagine a world in which all your BCBAs’ reports include all the required information in a single format consisten
The "Audit Binder" Available Now: Fully Editable Docs Answering All UBH/Optum Audit Criteria
You’ve heard all about the grueling UBH/Optum audit prospective autism treatment providers need to pass to get contracted. It’s been described as nothing short of a Herculean undertaking with, until now, little or no help or direction available. Before you fly into a frenzy trying to “figure it out” and waste precious time and resources, consider this: ATPIAN’s “audit binder” of fully-editable documents answers all the UBH/Optum audit requirements. Every single one of the age
Five Things You Should Know About Your Insurance Contracts
Congratulations! You’ve completed the contracting process and are now an “in-network” autism treatment provider with one or more insurance companies. But do you really know what you’ve committed to? What your contract actually says? What terms and conditions you’ve agreed to abide by? Though you probably don’t want to admit it, the answer is probably: no! Here are five things you MUST know about your insurance contracts: 1. What are you actually contracted for? In other word
Morphing from the Educational Model to the Medical Model: A Shift in Mind-Set and in Practice
Adding insurance to your basket of funding sources is one of the most important steps you’ll take to ensure the financial security and viability of your autism treatment practice. The basic business principal of not having all your eggs in one basket – or more simply put, not relying on a single funding source – is especially important for autism treatment providers. You are often reliant upon school districts and other government funded pots of money that, as history has sho
Preparing for your UBH Audit: Tips and Lessons Learned for Autism Treatment Providers
The final step in the contracting process with United Behavioral Health (UBH)/Optum is an audit. Depending on the type of agency, the audit may involve either a site visit by an auditor or a remote audit in which the autism treatment provider must send in documentation demonstrating that their practice and practitioners meet with UBH’s requirements. The UBH website offers prospective “auditees” access to the actual audit tools the auditors use. UBH has established a performa
If You Can’t Keep the Lights On, No One Benefits!
Many behavioral health agencies, and in particular those focused on autism treatment, are established out of a desire for clinical freedom. The founders of these agencies are rarely MBAs or suit-clad business men or women, but rather clinicians frustrated by working for someone else. What this means is that caring and passionate clinicians are now “business owners” burdened with the everyday administrative, managerial and financial headaches they likely didn’t take into accou
