BH Practice Startup — 2026 Billing Setup Checklist

Launching a new BH/ABA/SUD practice? Getting billing right from day 1 saves you 6-12 months of denial cleanup + credentialing catch-up.

Day 0-30: Foundation

1. NPI-1 (individual) + NPI-2 (organizational) — apply via NPPES
2. State BH license or equivalent
3. Malpractice insurance ($1M/$3M minimum typical)
4. DEA registration if prescribing
5. Business structure + EIN + business bank account
6. Tax ID + W-9

Day 30-90: Credentialing

1. Submit payer credentialing in parallel to top 8-10 payers
2. Medicare/Medicaid enrollment
3. Local BCBS + UHC + Aetna + Cigna at minimum
4. State Medicaid MCOs (top 3 per state)
5. TRICARE if ABA/military

Day 60-120: Billing Infrastructure

1. EHR selection (SimplePractice/CentralReach/Ensora/Kareo based on scale)
2. Clearinghouse (Availity or Change Healthcare)
3. Superbill/CMS-1500 templates
4. Front-end insurance verification workflow
5. Denial management workflow

Day 90+: Optimize

1. Monthly denial rate tracking (target <8%)
2. Days-in-AR tracking (target <45 days)
3. MHPAEA parity appeal workflow when denials show pattern

Full credentialing guide · Free startup consultation

– KD, Revenant Care