Oct. 17, 2025
Effective Dec. 15, 2025, we will implement a new Payment and Coding Policy, Psychiatry/Psychotherapy Services-Professional Provider, with billing and coding guidance.
This new policy provides information for billing and claims processing for behavioral health psychiatry/psychotherapy services for professional provider claims.
This policy includes billing and coding general information for the following:
- Psychiatric diagnostic evaluations
- Psychotherapy
- Psychotherapy with separately identifiable evaluation and management
- Crisis psychotherapy
- Family and group psychotherapy
- Interactive complexity
- Pharmacologic management
For more details, refer to this new policy in Availity® Essentials under Montana Payers Spaces.
Important Reminders
Always check eligibility and benefits first through Availity Essentials or your preferred vendor portal, prior to rendering services. This step will confirm prior authorization requirements and utilization management vendors, if applicable.
Availity is a trademark of Availity, LLC, a separate company that operates a health information network to provide electronic information exchange services to medical professionals. Availity provides administrative services to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana. BCBSMT makes no endorsement, representations or warranties regarding third-party vendors and the products and services offered by them.
The information presented isn’t intended to replace or supersede any requirements set forth in your contract with BCBSMT. In the event of a conflict between this information and your contract or our coverage contract with your patient, your contract or our coverage contract with your patient, as applicable, will control. References to other third-party sources or organizations are not a representation, warranty or endorsement of such resources or organizations. The fact that a service or treatment is described in this material, is not a guarantee that the service or treatment is a covered benefit and members should refer to their certificate of coverage for more details, including benefits, limitations and exclusions. Regardless of benefits, the final decision about any service or treatment is between the member and their health care provider.