Atlantic Health Strategies

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Your Source For The Latest In Behavioral Health Compliance and Strategic Growth:

Optum Behavioral Health Credentialing: The Operator’s Playbook for Provider Express, CAQH, and Accreditation

A behavioral health operator's guide to the Optum credentialing application: Provider Express submission, CAQH ProView requirements, accreditation choice, NCQA cycles, and what to do when the application stalls at 90 days and your census is waiting.

Five State Medicaid Agencies Are Tightening Behavioral Health Enrollment: An Operator’s Compliance Playbook

Medicaid agencies in five states have throttled new behavioral health provider enrollment over FWA concerns. Credentialing timelines are stretching past 180 days, revalidation packets are getting kicked back, and site visits are pulling apart enrollment files. Here is how operators should respond.

1115 IMD Waivers for SUD: What Residential Operators Should Do Now

KFF's review of Section 1115 SUD IMD-exclusion waivers tells residential operators a hard truth: Medicaid dollars in beds beyond 16 are conditional. We break down the CMS milestones, state renewal risk, and the pro forma stress tests buyers should run before closing.

PsychPlus Buys Koa Health: What Tech-Stack M&A Means for Behavioral Health Diligence

PsychPlus acquired London-based Koa Health to absorb a proprietary tech stack, not just patients. Sariah Hopkins breaks down what cross-border data flows, BAA gaps, and digital therapeutic reimbursement mean for buy-side diligence and seller readiness in mid-market psychiatry roll-ups.

Behavioral Health Licensure by State: An Operator’s Map

Behavioral health licensure varies wildly state to state. AHS CEO Sariah Hopkins breaks down what Florida AHCA, Texas HHSC, Arizona DHS, Colorado BHA, and Virginia DBHDS actually want from operators, and where founders lose months and millions getting it wrong.

Joint Commission Behavioral Health Accreditation: An Operator’s Playbook for BHC Standards

The Joint Commission's BHC accreditation runs on chapter-level standards, NPSGs, and unannounced surveys. Sariah Hopkins of Atlantic Health Strategies breaks down the standards that fail operators most often, what surveyors actually score, and how findings translate to payer contracts and deal value.

What Is a Behavioral Health Feasibility Study? An Operator’s Guide Before You Sign a Lease

A behavioral health feasibility study quantifies demand, payer mix, licensure pathway, and pro forma economics for a proposed treatment center in a specific catchment. Sariah Hopkins explains what belongs in the deliverable, when operators should commission one, and what disqualifies a market.

How to Open a Behavioral Health Facility in Florida: A 2026 Operator’s Roadmap

Florida splits behavioral health licensure between DCF and AHCA, and operators who confuse the two lose months. This guide walks through the statutes, the accreditation gate, the credentialing math, and the realistic 9 to 14 month timeline for opening a treatment center in Florida.

Mississippi Joins the CCBHC Demonstration: An Operator’s Playbook

Mississippi entered the federal CCBHC Medicaid demonstration in 2024, and the operator math has shifted fast. Here is what behavioral health operators should expect from DMH, the Division of Medicaid, and the PPS rate build, and where the dollars actually land.
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