Oregon health authority says it will make rules to disallow associate mental health clinicians from billing Medicaid

On Dec. 9, WW first reported that CareOregon, the state’s largest Medicaid provider, would stop reimbursing next year for services provided by associate therapists and social workers who practice independently of an in-network clinic. The announcement sent shock waves among mental health professionals, some of whom said the policy change would worsen Oregon’s mental health care access crisis.