Behavioral Health Integration

What it is

Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) covers care management for patients with a behavioral health or substance use condition that, in the billing practitioner's clinical judgment, warrants it. Two models:

• General BHI (99484) — monthly behavioral health care management by clinical staff under the practitioner's general supervision, or by the practitioner.
• Psychiatric Collaborative Care (CoCM) — a team of three: the primary care practitioner, a behavioral health care manager and a psychiatric consultant who reviews the caseload (G2214, 99492 / 99493 / 99494).

How willowbridge bills it: general BHI as 99484; Collaborative Care on the care manager's minutes as G2214, 99492 or 99493 with 99494. Beside the same practitioner's APCM month, the month bills the APCM add-on instead — G0570, G0568 or G0569 — on its documented elements, with no minute threshold (willowbridge policy; CMS allows either). A month missing an element holds with a reason in plain words; nothing switches models on its own.

Who qualifies

• A behavioral health condition on the signed care plan with a goal under it — an ICD-10 chapter F code, or a condition the billing practitioner designates.
• Consent naming the billing practitioner, and an initiating visit with them where BHI was discussed.
• General BHI: 20 or more counted minutes in the calendar month.
• Collaborative Care: a recorded behavioral health care manager, whose minutes alone count, and a psychiatric consultant with a credential and an NPI on the signed care plan.
• A validated rating scale (PHQ-9, GAD-7 and others) given in the month — willowbridge policy; CMS asks for scales when applicable.

Codes & when to bill them

Each billable code, with the requirements that must be on file to bill it.

• 99484General Behavioral Health Integration — at least 20 counted minutes per calendar month.
  RequirementsBehavioral condition with a goal on the signed care plan; consent; initiating visit; a rating scale in the month; a designated care-team member.
• G2214Collaborative Care — 30 minutes of the behavioral health care manager's time in a month short of 99492 / 99493.
  RequirementsThe Collaborative Care elements; never with 99494.
• 99492First month of a Collaborative Care episode — 70 of the care manager's minutes.
  RequirementsA qualified psychiatric consultant on the signed care plan, the behavioral condition with a goal, a rating scale in the month.
• 99493Later Collaborative Care months — 60 of the care manager's minutes.
  RequirementsThe same elements on the record for the month.
• 99494Each further full 30 of the care manager's minutes (with 99492 or 99493), up to four a month.
  RequirementsAdd-on to 99492 / 99493.
• G0570APCM behavioral health add-on for general BHI — no minute threshold.
  RequirementsBilled by the same practitioner in the same month as G0556–G0558 (filed as its own claim linked to the base); the add-on's elements documented.
• G0568APCM behavioral health add-on — first month of Collaborative Care, no minute threshold.
  RequirementsThe same practitioner's G0556–G0558 for the month; the Collaborative Care elements documented.
• G0569APCM behavioral health add-on — later months of Collaborative Care, no minute threshold.
  RequirementsThe same practitioner's G0556–G0558 for the month; the Collaborative Care elements documented.

Documentation required every cycle

1. The behavioral condition and a goal under it on the signed care plan.
2. Time log with what was done — under Collaborative Care, the care manager's.
3. A validated rating scale given in the month, with its day.
4. Patient consent naming the practitioner, and the initiating visit.
5. Practitioner sign-off: the condition warrants BHI and, under Collaborative Care, the caseload review with the psychiatric consultant.

What's new in CY 2026

CY 2026 added three APCM behavioral health add-ons that mirror the BHI codes without a minute threshold: G0570 for general BHI, G0568 for the first Collaborative Care month and G0569 for the months after. CMS lets a practice bill them beside APCM or bill the standard codes; willowbridge bills the add-on whenever the same practitioner bills the patient's APCM that month.

Built-in patient consentwillowbridge exclusive

Every program ships with compliant, CY-2026 patient consent language — read verbatim into the in-app consent capture flow, captured with date + modality, and version-pinned to each claim, so the consent on file always matches the consent that was billed. No more chasing signatures or re-papering when the rule changes.

Common questions

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