06/06/2026
As a Michigan mental health practice, we wanted to share with the community some major changes announced this week by BCBS of MI thay will hugely impact mental health services throughout our state.
On June 1, 2026, BCBS MI published a significant change to their incident-to billing policy, with changes taking effect September 1, 2026 and March 1, 2027. This policy will eliminate reimbursement for limited licensed mental health clinicians working in community-based private practices. These are master's level therapists who have completed graduate education, passed national licensing exams, and are actively working toward full licensure under state-mandated supervision. They are not unqualified. They are in a defined, required stage of Michigan's licensure
As many of you know, rate of people experiencing mental health challenges are historically high and since the COVID pandemic, people have experienced long wait times to access appropriate care. Mental health practices rely on limited licensed clinicians to maintain patient care and keep wait times down. When those clinicians can no longer be reimbursed for their services, practices lose the ability to employ and pay them, caseloads diminish, and the people who already face the most barriers to care lose access.
When people can't access mental health care, there is a major trickle down effect in our communities. People don't just magically get better, they end up in our emergency rooms in crisis. This doesn't just impact adults either. Ee have seen alarming rates of depression, anxiety, and su***de amongst kids and teens. If these kids cannot access care, the schools and families will feel the impact. None of us are untouched by what happens when people have nowhere to turn for help.
Michigan already has 233 designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas. This BCBS policy will unquestionably deepen that shortage, not reduce it.
If these issues alarm you, here is what you can do:
1. Comment directly on BCBS MI's Facebook posts and let them hear from the people their policies affect. https://www.facebook.com/BCBSM
2. Contact BCBS MI directly through their member services line and put your concerns on record.
3. Contact your state legislators, both your state House representative and state Senator, and ask them to look into the larger implications of this change.
4. Reach out to the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS), which regulates insurance companies in our state. You can call them toll-free at 877-999-6442, email [email protected], or file a complaint online at michigan.gov/difs.
5. If your insurance is through your employer, raise it there too. Employers sponsor these plans and have leverage that individual members don't.
6. Watch for petitions and formal responses from the Michigan Mental Health Counselors Association and NASW Michigan, both of which are actively responding to this policy change, and add your name when those come.
Official page of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit corporation and independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
