Behavioral Health Carve-Outs: Who Actually Credentials You
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Many health plans do not credential therapists themselves. They carve the behavioral health benefit out to a separate company, and that company runs the application, the contract, the fee schedule and the provider record. For counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, psychologists and psychiatric prescribers, the first question for every plan is therefore not how to join it but who to apply to. The table below answers that for the largest plans.
Who Credentials Behavioral Health, Plan by Plan
The plan on the client's card and the company that credentials you are often different. Check routing per plan and market before applying, because each carve-out network is its own application with its own clock, and a CAQH (DataSpring) profile alone does not enroll you in any of them.
| Plan on the card | Who credentials behavioral health | How you apply |
|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealthcare, Oxford, UnitedHealthcare Community Plans | Optum Behavioral Health, which handles credentialing and contracting on UnitedHealthcare's behalf | Provider Express (providerexpress.com) or 800-817-4705 |
| Cigna | Evernorth Behavioral Health (Cigna Behavioral Health was renamed Evernorth on September 1, 2021) | Evernorth Provider Portal and the Provider Information Form; groups of four or more use the Clinic Information Form |
| Anthem, other Elevance Health plans and some other Blue plans | Carelon Behavioral Health, where the plan uses it | Carelon Payer Space in Availity, with Carelon authorized in CAQH (DataSpring) |
| Plans that use Magellan | Magellan Healthcare | Request an application from the Magellan network contact for your area |
| Aetna | Aetna directly, no carve-out vendor | Aetna's request to join, then the CAQH (DataSpring) application with Aetna authorized |
| Horizon BCBSNJ | Horizon directly, in house | Horizon's online enrollment tool with a CAQH (DataSpring) profile |
Blue plans differ by state. Some manage behavioral health in house, as Horizon does in New Jersey, and some carve it out, so confirm with each Blue plan. Medicaid managed care plans may carve behavioral health out again to a vendor: in New Jersey, for example, Wellpoint's behavioral network is run by Carelon and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan's by Optum.
Why Carve-Outs Matter
A carve-out changes three things a therapist depends on.
- A separate application. The vendor runs its own credentialing, with its own forms, portal and committee calendar. Evernorth, for example, says joining can take up to 90 calendar days. An application to the medical plan does not start it.
- A separate fee schedule. The vendor contract sets what you are paid for behavioral claims, independent of the plan's physician fee schedule. Compare published rates before you sign; our therapist insurance rates research shows them by state and insurer.
- A separate provider record. Because the vendor holds the contract, it also holds the record of your locations, specialties and availability. Send address and availability changes to the vendor as well as to CAQH (DataSpring), and confirm with each vendor where its directory listing comes from.
The upside is reach. Optum, Evernorth and Carelon each serve more than one plan or product, so one vendor contract can cover several plans. Ask each vendor which plans and products your contract covers.
How to Apply to Each Network
Optum Behavioral Health: start on Provider Express by selecting your specialty. Optum works from your CAQH (DataSpring) profile, so have it complete and attested first. Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners also join here for behavioral services.
Evernorth: individuals apply in the Evernorth Provider Portal, where a user needs the Contracting entitlement, and the Provider Information Form must be completed in one session. Evernorth requires a CAQH attestation within 120 days (180 in Illinois), its own authorization, and a W-9 that matches the Tax ID on the form.
Carelon: new enrollment requests go through the Carelon Behavioral Health Payer Space in Availity, not by email. Carelon participates in CAQH, so add Carelon as an authorized organization and keep the attestation current. Carelon also asks that you be accepting new patients.
Magellan: applications are requested from the Magellan network contact for your area, and Magellan reviews credentials, specialty and network need.
Aetna and Horizon: no vendor. Use each plan's request to join and authorize the plan in CAQH (DataSpring).
Build Your Panel List by Vendor
Start with the plans your likely clients carry, translate each into the company that credentials behavioral health, then remove duplicates. A practice targeting UnitedHealthcare, Oxford and a UnitedHealthcare Medicaid plan may need one Optum application, not three. Then submit every application in the same week. For Medicare, which counselors and marriage and family therapists can now join, see Medicare enrollment for counselors and MFTs, and for the full therapist path see insurance credentialing for therapists. Each carve-out application is priced like any other plan application on our pricing page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a behavioral health carve-out?
A carve-out is an arrangement where a health plan hands its mental health and substance use benefit to a separate company that credentials, contracts with and pays behavioral providers. For a therapist it means the company on the client’s card is not the one you apply to. You apply to the vendor, and the vendor’s contract is the one that pays your claims.
Who credentials therapists for UnitedHealthcare?
Optum Behavioral Health. UnitedHealthcare states that Optum Behavioral Health Solutions handles credentialing and contracting on its behalf for behavioral health providers, and the application starts at providerexpress.com or 800-817-4705. This covers UnitedHealthcare commercial plans, Oxford and UnitedHealthcare Community Plans in the markets where Optum runs the behavioral network.
Is Evernorth the same as Cigna for therapists?
For behavioral health, yes. Cigna Behavioral Health became Evernorth Behavioral Health on September 1, 2021, and Cigna sends behavioral providers to Evernorth to join. Individuals apply through the Evernorth Provider Portal with a Provider Information Form, and Evernorth says the process can take up to 90 calendar days, or as otherwise required by law.
Does Aetna use a behavioral health carve-out?
No. Aetna credentials behavioral health professionals itself. Its join-the-network request form covers medical and behavioral health professionals, and after contracting Aetna pulls the credentialing application from CAQH, so you must designate Aetna as an authorized plan in your profile.
If I am in network with a medical plan, am I in network for its behavioral health members?
Not when the plan carves behavioral health out. The vendor holds the behavioral contract, its own fee schedule and its own provider record, so a medical contract with the plan does not cover behavioral claims. Check the member ID card or the plan’s provider page to see who manages behavioral health before applying.
Sources: UnitedHealthcare: join our network (behavioral health) · Cigna: join the behavioral health network · Evernorth: join the network · Carelon: join our network · Magellan: join the network · Aetna: join the network. Horizon's in-house routing is from our own filings; Horizon's provider pages could not be read directly, so confirm with Horizon provider services.
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By the PECS credentialing team. Updated October 2026.