Starting Monday, the Maryland Department of Health temporarily stopped enrolling certain kinds of behavioral health providers into the Maryland Medicaid Program in an effort to address potential fraud, waste and abuse.

The pause will last six months, the department said in a Friday news release, and affect four behavioral health program types:

Psychiatric rehabilitation programs

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Programs, Health Home

Level 2.5 Partial Hospital Programs, and

Level 2.1 Intensive Outpatient Treatment Programs

The health department’s decision — which was approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the department said — is in response to the rapid growth of these provider types since moving to an accreditation-only model for provider licensing.

“Access to quality behavioral health services for Marylanders is my top priority,” Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health Alyssa Lord said in the news release. “This pause in new provider applications will allow the Department to assess and evaluate the provider landscape, the quality of care rendered, compliance with state and federal regulations, and identify, and mitigate potential fraud, waste, and abuse.”

The licensure pause does not affect access to mental health services provided by individual practitioners, clinics operated in regulated hospital spaces and providers at federally qualified health centers, the department said. The department also maintains the licensure and enrollment process for existing providers who need license renewals, relocations, mergers and acquisitions, extensions required because of accreditation delays, and licenses required for programs identified and funded by state or county grant funding.

License applications that were filed before Monday are not affected, the department said.