Behavioral Health Managed Care

Managed Care performs many authorization and access functions, including: 

  1. Authorization of out-of-county inpatient psychiatric hospitalization
  2. Maintenance of a panel of Network Providers -- licensed therapists in the community who are carefully credentialed to ensure quality and network capacity
  3. Initial authorization of Residential Substance Use Disorder services
  4. Authorization of mental health services for youth in out-of-county placements

Reference

Provider Directory

FAQs

To become a Network Provider:

  1. Contact Managed Care at (800) 838-1381.
  2. Visit our Network Provider Resources page.

Emergency services do not require pre-authorization!

  1. Call us at our confidential notification line (805) 781-4706 and leave a message that identifies the SLO Medi-Cal beneficiary, your facility and the date of admission.
  2. We will contact you by phone or letter to advise you how to submit the Treatment Authorization Request (TAR) and medical record for retrospective review.

Many youth who are placed out-of-county need mental health services.  Contact Managed Care Central Access at 1 (800) 838-1381 or [email protected]  to discuss authorization of services. 

There are two processes: One is called "Presumptive Transfer" and involves transfer of Medi-Cal benefits to the county where the youth resides.  This process is the result of Assembly Bill (AB) 1299.

The other process is the result of Senate Bill (SB) 785, and allows youth with Adoption Assistance, Foster Care or KinGAP Medi-Cal to receive service where they live which are authorized by the County where the Medi-Cal originated.