Behavioral Health

The Behavioral Health Program is Acentra Health’s legacy program in West Virginia (WV). Since 2000, Acentra Health has provided prior authorizations for behavioral health services, retroactive provider documentation reviews, technical assistance and training to providers, data analysis, and member-focused activities.

The Behavioral Health Program promotes coordination of services for WV Medicaid fee-for-service members across payer sources and has expanded to include the following provider types offering behavioral health services to WV Medicaid members:

• Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Hospitals (for members under age 21 and adults)
• Partial Hospitalization programs
• Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (both in state and out of state)
• Private Psychiatric and Psychological practitioners
• Licensed Behavioral Health Centers
• Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics
• Rural Health Clinics
• Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers
• Licensed Professional Counselors.

Acentra Health staff in this program have extensive experience working in the WV behavioral healthcare system, and all clinical staff members are fully licensed in the state. Additional services provided by Acentra Health include:

• Training and technical assistance
• Retrospective care reviews
• Data analysis and reporting
• Quality improvement activities
• Interagency consultation and collaboration.

The WV Department of Human Services (DoHS) Bureau for Medical Services (BMS) utilizes the following definition of behavioral health, services, and supplies:

1. Appropriate and necessary for the symptoms, diagnosis, or treatment of an illness
2. Provided for the diagnosis or direct care of an illness
3. Within the standards of good practice
4. Not primarily for the convenience of the plan member or provider
5. The most appropriate level of care that can be safely provided.

To learn more, visit the BMS website at https://dhhr.wv.gov/bms/.

For more information about behavioral health services funded by the DoHS Bureau for Behavioral Health (BBH), including 844-HELP4WV and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/bbh/.