Attention: Resources for providers
Want to know how to become licensed? Connect with the Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists or the Board of Licensed Social Workers
Want to join a provider that holds a contract or a Certificate of Approval? Many area anchor agencies hold a contract or a Certificate of Approval. You can find many opportunities on Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon’s jobs page or the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health Job Board
Want to help a member transition their care? Reach out soon to our care coordination team for help transitioning a member’s care or ensuring ongoing access to care
Want to learn more about Certificates of Approval in Oregon? Find more information from the Oregon Health Authority
Below are answers to frequently asked questions about CareOregon’s policy change impacting non-contracted and unlicensed board registered associate providers who are not part of a group with a Certificate of Approval from the state. Effective July 31, 2025, claims submitted by these providers will no longer be reimbursed. For more information about this policy change, visit: Behavioral health contracting and networking change.
What led to this change in CareOregon policy?
In 2016, the state of Oregon revised its regulations to allow unlicensed clinicians to practice in any setting. In 2020, CareOregon began reimbursing these providers as “non-contracted providers” to ensure continuity of care for members during a change in their behavioral health benefits management. Since then, we have prioritized supporting our behavioral health workforce and ensuring member access to essential behavioral health care services.
Over the past five years, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting workforce burnout have contributed to a significant exodus of behavioral health providers – particularly from safety net organizations. Many individual providers shifted to private practice, where they served less acute patients. Additionally, state legislation in 2022 introduced rate increases that resulted in an unprecedented influx of unlicensed, uncontracted behavioral health providers billing for services provided to our members.
Through engagement with safety net organizations and feedback from members with high acuity or complex behavioral health care needs, we’ve observed differences between unlicensed providers working independently and those affiliated with either a contracted organization or an organization holding a Certificate of Approval. Data collected since 2020 highlights critical trends in member experiences with behavioral health providers, increasing demand for behavioral health care services, and the evolving work force needs within safety net organizations.
Our duty of care is to ensure that members can access clinically effective services — including crisis care and after-hours services — while ensuring that providers have the safety resources and clinical support needed to uphold key quality assurance and clinical standards. Community mental health programs and other safety net organizations are uniquely equipped to deliver comprehensive services for members with high-acuity or complex needs, such as serious and chronic mental health conditions or substance use disorders.
Addressing this need now has become increasingly urgent as demand for behavioral health care continues to grow, even as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic wane. Our quality committee, internal network, and Clinical Division leaders have endorsed this policy change to strengthen our safety net. Additionally, the Oregon Health Authority has begun a rulemaking process to reverse the 2016 rule change.
The revised network and contracting policy takes effect on July 31, 2025.
