PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A big shakeup is on the way for Arizona mental health professionals and one of the state\u2019s largest insurance companies.<\/p>\n
Therapists say starting on New Year\u2019s Day, new supervision requirements could worsen the growing mental health care shortage. <\/p>\n
If providers can\u2019t keep up with the new rules, they won\u2019t be able to accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona<\/a> insurance, forcing patients to either pay out of pocket or find a new therapist.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will do nothing but limit services and even abruptly stop services,\u201d said Dr. Alex Levitan, the chief clinical director of Levitan & Associates Psychological Services<\/a>. <\/p>\n To Levitan, the updated guidelines are forced micromanagement. He feels blindsided.<\/p>\n \u201cRidiculous demands,\u201d said Levitan. \u201cIt\u2019s supposed to be a supervisory rather than this hand-holding, me taking charge kind of system.\u201d<\/p>\n Supervising providers will now have to handle patient intake and set up a treatment plan before transitioning care to an associate.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have completed all their schooling. They have passed their licensing requirements. They just need to acquire a certain amount of hours under supervision,\u201d he said. \u201cSo this isn\u2019t like a student who this is, you know, their first case and they\u2019re nervous. Like these are actually independently capable professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n The new guidelines also require that the supervisor be readily available to step in in real-time, in person or virtually, throughout all future appointments.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I don\u2019t have to be in the room with them, but I kind of have to be, I guess, next door with like a glass to the wall, like listening in. And if there\u2019s an emergency, I\u2019m at the drop of a hat ready to run in,\u201d said Levitan.<\/p>\n He said this will complicate telehealth offerings and lead to job losses in a field experiencing high demand, amid a severe staffing shortage.<\/p>\n \u201cI can tell you right now, our wait list for evaluations is about three months out, simply because there are not enough providers to do the work,\u201d said Levitan.<\/p>\n The impact is widespread. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona provides insurance to more than 2 million customers.<\/p>\n A company spokesperson released this statement:<\/p>\n \u201cOur updated guidelines are designed to improve care, prevent fraud, and keep patients safe. They apply across all services offered to our members. For new patients after January 1, 2026, we want to make sure that a qualified provider (eligible to be credentialed with AZ Blue) starts the patient relationship, completes the first visit, and sets the treatment plan before transitioning the patient to an associate or technician to carry out the treatment plan. The supervising provider must then stay readily available (physically or via real-time audio\/visual) to step in and provide guidance at any point in the treatment. We update our Provider Operating Guide annually and communicate those changes on an annual basis as well. This change, along with other updates to the Guide, were shared by email in November with a reminder email in December.”<\/p>\n Several Valley therapists told Arizona\u2019s Family they never received notice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe pretty much have to either work for free or pretty much do almost like case management, even though that\u2019s not our profession, to help find new sources of help for these individuals,\u201d said Levitan.<\/p>\n In addition to being the Chief Clinical Director of his own practice in Phoenix, Levitan supervises clinicians for other offices and agencies, and he said he won\u2019t be able to do that anymore because he can\u2019t be available to them and his own team the way Blue Cross Blue Shield will soon require.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n