Behavioral Health Integration (BHI)
for Primary Care Providers
Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) is a structured care program designed to help primary care providers manage patients with mild to moderate behavioral health conditions. Unlike broader models of integrated behavioral health, the CMS-defined BHI program is built around CPT code 99484 and enables scalable, team-based support — without needing co-located specialists.
With Clinii, practices can easily implement BHI through automated care coordination task lists, care plan generation, and seamless EMR integration — all tailored for behavioral health care management.
What is Behavioral Health Integration?
Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) is a CMS-defined care management program that coordinates mental health, substance use, and primary care services to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care that addresses the full spectrum of behavioral and physical health needs.
1. Better Patient Outcomes With Coordinated Behavioral Health Care
Integrating behavioral health into primary care empowers providers to manage both mental and physical health conditions in tandem. This collaborative approach enables earlier detection of behavioral health issues and more effective, timely interventions—leading to improved patient outcomes.
2. Streamlined Collaboration Between Providers
BHI promotes seamless communication between primary care physicians and behavioral health specialists. By working from a shared care plan and exchanging real-time insights, providers can better coordinate treatments, reduce duplication of services, and ensure continuity of care across disciplines.
3. Increased Efficiency in Behavioral Health Care Management
Managing mental health concerns within primary care visits can be time-consuming and emotionally taxing. BHI allows primary care providers to share responsibility with behavioral health professionals, easing the workload and improving clinical efficiency. This support helps mitigate burnout while enhancing the provider’s capacity to focus on comprehensive care.
4. Improved Access to
Mental Health Services
Barriers such as long wait times and limited specialist availability often delay mental health support. Through
BHI, patients gain access to behavioral health services within the primary care setting, removing delays and encouraging more patients to engage with the support
they need.
5. Data-Driven Insights
and Measurable Impact
With integrated behavioral health, practices can leverage real-time data and population health metrics to monitor patient progress and evaluate program effectiveness. These insights support continuous improvement in care delivery and ensure accountability in clinical outcomes.
6. Seamless Integration With Clinii's Scalable BHI Platform
Clinii’s BHI platform supports effortless implementation within existing practice workflows. Offering flexible deployment models, configurable care pathways, and EMR interoperability, Clinii enables healthcare teams to scale behavioral health integration services without disrupting operations—ensuring providers can focus on what matters most: Delivering better patient care.
The following CPT codes support billing for CMS-approved Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) services in primary care settings:
General BHI
Initial month billing for psychiatric collaborative care, involving 70 minutes of direct clinical staff time for intensive care management and coordination.
CPT Codes
High Complexity
Identical to the previous description, emphasizing the initial month's intensive engagement for psychiatric care under collaborative conditions.
Additional monthly care management for psychiatric conditions, requiring at least 30 minutes of clinical staff time, billed as an add-on to standard care.
A provider performs psychiatric collaborative care management (CoCM) for a patient receiving behavioral health treatment and regular psychiatric interspecialty consultation in collaboration and in conjunction with a patient’s treating (or billing) primary care provider. Report 99493 for the first 60 minutes of CoCM in a subsequent month after the first month of care.
Frequently Asked Questions About Behavioral Health Integration
1. Are the BHI codes limited to Medicare beneficiaries with certain behavioral health conditions/diagnoses?
No, the BHI codes may be used to treat patients with any mental, behavioral health, or psychiatric condition that is being treated by the billing practitioner, including substance use disorders. We do not limit billing and payment for BHI codes to a specified set of behavioral health conditions. The services require that there be a presenting mental, psychiatric, or behavioral health condition(s) that, in the clinical judgment of the billing practitioner, warrants Behavioral Health Integration services. The diagnosis or diagnoses could be either pre-existing or made by the billing practitioner and may be refined over time.
2. Can the General BHI code be billed for the same patient in the same month as the CoCM codes?
No, a single practitioner must choose whether to report the general BHI code or the CoCM codes in a given month (service period) for a given beneficiary. However, in many cases, it may be appropriate for a single practitioner to
report the general BHI code or the CoCM codes for the same beneficiary over the course of several months.
3. What place of service (POS) should be reported on the professional claim?
The BHI codes are priced in both facility and non-facility settings. The billing practitioner should report the POS for the location where they would ordinarily provide face-to-face care to the beneficiary.
4. How is Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) different from integrated behavioral health?
Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) is a specific care management service recognized by CMS and billed using codes like CPT 99484. It enables primary care providers to coordinate behavioral health support without requiring co-located mental health specialists. In contrast, “integrated behavioral health” is a broader clinical philosophy that may involve co-location or multidisciplinary teams. Clinii’s BHI platform is designed specifically to support CMS-compliant, scalable behavioral health integration in primary care.
5. Can Clinii’s BHI platform support both General BHI and CoCM CPT billing codes?
Yes. Clinii supports care workflows aligned with both the General BHI code (CPT 99484) and the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) codes (CPT 99492–99494). Whether your practice is managing mild to moderate behavioral health conditions or coordinating care with psychiatric consultants, Clinii helps you stay compliant, document required activities, and streamline reimbursement.