The Maryland Department of Health has extended a pause on new provider enrollments in Medicaid for certain mental health and addiction treatment facilities.

The pause will now last until July, a statement from the department said last week. First instituted last July, it affects four kinds of providers: psychiatric rehabilitation programs; psychiatric rehabilitation programs, health home; Level 2.5 partial hospital program; and Level 2.1 Intensive outpatient treatment programs.

“This pause in accepting applications for these provider types was in response to their rapid growth since moving to an accreditation-only model for provider licensing. This effort is part of a multi-step approach allowing the Department to assess and evaluate the provider landscape and identify and mitigate potential fraud, waste, and abuse,” the department said.

After the state moved to accreditation-only for substance use disorder and mental health providers in 2016, the department has received complaints alleging fraud, including claims that Medicaid participants didn’t receive services, according to a spokesman.

The state accepts accreditation from five nationally recognized firms, the spokesman said in an email to The Baltimore Sun.

The Department of Health’s other steps in this effort include reviewing state code regulations for behavioral health and Medicaid, switching behavioral health administrative service providers, analyzing underutilized services and exploring options for new, cheaper services.

The pause will not affect access to the services rendered by licensed social workers, counselors, psychiatrists and psychologists, behavioral health clinics in regulated hospital spaces, and behavioral health providers in federally qualified health centers, the news release says.

Like when the moratorium was first implemented, the department said it is continuing to maintain the licensure and enrollment process for existing providers obtaining renewals, programs receiving state or county funding, relocating providers, providers undergoing mergers and acquisitions and those who received extensions for their accreditation.

“Quality behavioral health care for Marylanders continues to be a top priority of the Department,” said Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health Alyssa Lord in the statement.

“This pause is one essential part of a larger plan to ensure much-needed oversight and compliance of new provider applications and protect Marylanders in need of behavioral health services.”

Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.