All Plan Letter 21-014 Alcohol and Drug Screening, Assessment, Brief Interventions and Referral to Treatment
| Date: | October 20, 2023 |
| To: | Health Plan of San Joaquin (HPSJ) Practitioners and Facilities |
| Type: | Informational/Educational |
| Subject: | All Plan Letter 21-014 Alcohol and Drug Screening, Assessment, Brief Interventions and Referral to Treatment |
| Business: | Medi-Cal Managed Care |
This alert serves as a reminder on how you can apply the information to your practice or facility operations, where appropriate. This summary is provided as an excerpt of the full All Plan Letter (APL).
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) issued All Plan Letter (APL) 21-014: APL 21-014 (ca.gov), “Alcohol and Drug Screening, Assessment, Brief Interventions and Referral to Treatment” on October 11, 2021, and an updated reminder alert sent on June 16, 2022. Please see the APL itself for the complete guidance.
This policy was issued as an update to APL 18-014: “Alcohol Misuse: Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions in Primary Care” which includes the updates on Managed Care Plan (MCP) primary care requirements to provide Alcohol and Drug Screening, Assessment, Brief Interventions and Referral to Treatment (SABIRT) to members ages 11 years and older, including pregnant women.
Key Information
- Increased scope of services from Alcohol Misuse Screening and Counseling (AMSC) to Alcohol and Drug Screening, Assessment, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SABIRT).
- The age requirement decreased from 18 to 11 years old. DHCS included a list of recommended tools for screening and assessment, as recommended by the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF).
- Included documentation requirements of the screening, outcome, and referral to treatment, when necessary
For billing codes and guidance for primary care offices, please use the following publication: mcweb.apps.prd.cammis.medi-cal.ca.gov/assets/D84845A9-9DA6-434D-8B97-00CD24F101E7/nonspecmental.pdf?access_token=6UyVkRRfByXTZEWIh8j8QaYylPyP5U
For additional information regarding Evaluation and Management (E&M) services related to Alcohol and Drug Screening, Assessment, Brief Interventions and Referral to Treatment, please review the following: Evaluation & Management (E&M) (eval) (ca.gov)
If you have any further questions, please contact your Provider Services Representative, or call our Customer Service Department at 1-888-936-PLAN (7526). You may also visit https://www.hpsj.com/alerts/ for online access to the documents shared. The most recent information about Health Plan of San Joaquin and our services is always available on our website https://www.hpsj.com/