Network Communication Bulletin #457

Roadmap 2 Ready March 2026

Each month we will cover a topic that is a part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Emergency Preparedness Rule.  In January we covered how to review and improve your communication plan in times of emergency.

Emergency planning for businesses and healthcare entities can be overwhelming.  Ready.gov and ASPR Tracie both have great resources to help you improve your emergency plans, create a needs assessment, hazard mitigation planning and staff planning. 

Each Ready Business Toolkit covers the following elements of a plan: 

For Provider specific resources that are broken down by facility types or by hazard, ASPR Tracie is a great resource.
Disaster Plans must be submitted through this link by May 1, 2026: 2026 Disaster Plan Submission
To confirm your disaster plan was received just check the “send me a copy of my responses” option at the end of the Disaster Plan Submission form.

Behavioral Health National Accreditation Requirements Provider Updates

For NC Medicaid and Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services (DMHDDSUS) State Funded Behavioral Health Providers.  This bulletin replaces in full the Behavioral Health National Accreditation Requirements Provider Update bulletin.

This bulletin applies to NC Medicaid Direct and NC Medicaid Managed Care.

This bulletin serves to remind providers of Mental Health, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) services that achievement of national accreditation is required per NC Gen Stat § 122C-81 (2023), Medicaid clinical coverage policies, the North Carolina Medicaid State Plan and Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services (DMHDDSUS) State-funded Service Definitions. The requirement for a provider to achieve national accreditation can either be one or three years after initial NCTracks Medicaid provider enrollment, except for providers of Innovation Waiver services. 

Providers of select I/DD services included in Clinical Coverage Policy 8-P, North Carolina Innovations, must be nationally accredited at the time of enrolling in Medicaid via NCTracks.  Mental health, I/DD and substance use providers should refer to relevant clinical coverage policies to determine the specific timeframe allowed to achieve national accreditation. 

Providers are advised to initiate the process of obtaining national accreditation if the requirement has not been met or is not already in progress.  Additional information about NCTracks monitoring will be available soon.  

• Medicaid Behavioral Health clinical coverage policies may be accessed on the NC Medicaid Program Specific Clinical Coverage Policies webpage.

DMHDDSUS State Funded Services coverage policies may be accessed at NC DMHDDSUS: Service Definitions.

NCTracks quick links

• NCDHHS Requests Applicants for the NC Rural Health Transformation ROOTS Hub Leads
• Trauma-Informed Workforce Wellness Training for Western NC
• Substance Use 101- Presented by Tarang, Governor's Institute, DMH/DD/SUS and Unshame NC
• Side by Side with DMH/DD/SUS Fireside Chat: IDD and Brain Injury Awareness Month
• State Consumer and Family Advisory Committee Meeting
• Intersection of Interpersonal Violence Supporting People with I/DD and TBI
• Advanced Training Series for Direct Support Professionals
• First Episode Psychosis (FEP) Symposium Registration Due March 15, 2026
• From Numbers to Knowledge: Introducing the TBI Dashboard
• Brain Injury Advisory Council Meeting

Reminders

Provider Information sessions: NC Child Welfare trauma-informed assessment (NC CWTIA) Request for Applications (RFA)

Dear Providers and Stakeholders,

Thank you for participating in a North Carolina Child Welfare Trauma-Informed Assessment (NC CWTIA) Provider Information Session. We appreciate your engagement, thoughtful questions, and continued interest in supporting trauma-informed care for children and families across North Carolina.

Below you will find important updates related to this initiative, including an update on the reimbursement rate, a recording of the Provider Information Session, and a Frequently Asked Questions resource.

The Division of Health Benefits releases an update on the reimbursement rate for the NC CWTIA

The proposed rate for the Child Welfare Trauma-Informed Assessment is $804.22 per completed assessment. The proposed rate is being released for informational purposes and may be subject to change pending additional review and final approval by NC Medicaid.

Start-up funds of up to $2,000 per clinician may be available to providers that apply by March 15, 2026. Funding is subject to availability, contracting approval, and the ability to meet the June 30, 2026, expenditure deadline.

• NC CWTIA Information Session Recording
• NC CWTIA Presentation Slides
• NC CWTIA Provider Information FAQ
• Application Submission Deadline: March 15, 2026
• Notification of Selection: April 6-10, 2026
• CWTIA Implementation: Beginning in July 2026

To access the Request for Applications, please select any one of the link below:

• Trillium Health Resources

Provider Satisfaction Survey

We value your partnership and ongoing commitment to serving our members. To help us better understand your experience and identify opportunities for improvement, we invite you to complete our Provider Satisfaction Survey.

Your feedback is extremely important and will help guide enhancements to our processes, communication, and overall provider support. The survey should take approximately 2 minutes to complete.

Please complete the survey by April 8, 2026 using the link below: 

• Satisfaction Survey

Thank you for your time and thoughtful feedback. We sincerely appreciate your partnership.

March 2026 Provider Training Schedule Now Available

Registration is open for the March 2026 training courses listed below. NCTracks zoom courses can be attended remotely from any location. Courses offered this month include:

• Prior Approval Institutional
• Medicare Lite-Full Enrollment
• Re-Verification
• Ordering Prescribing and Referring-Provider Enrollment
• New Office Administrator
• Submitting a Professional Claim

See the document linked below for more information on course schedule and access to zoom links:

• March 2026 Provider Training Schedule

Welcome to TULA: Trillium Ultimate Living Assistant 

TULA Technology makes two-way communication simple, enabling on-demand remote support and real-time monitoring. In this session, you’ll learn how TULA works, explore its benefits and goals, and get answers to your questions. This is your chance to find out if TULA is the right solution for you and the person you support.

• Date/Time: Thursday, March 26, 2026, 11:00-12:00 p.m. 
• Registration: Register for the webinar

Closed-Captioning will be provided.

The Growing Clinicians’ Collective

Participants will join a cohort of other fully or provisionally licensed mental and behavioral health clinicians to discuss case examples.

Through these case discussions, participants will consider new ways of conceptualizing cases with evidence-based theories, learn from one another in a collaborative environment, and experience a sense of support and validation.

See details 

New Accreditation Verifications for Non-Endorsed Services

Effective February 22, 2026, NCTracks will begin verifying national accreditation for specific non-endorsed services during enrollment and ongoing enrollment in Medicaid according to the Provider Permission Matrix (PPM). This requirement will apply during enrollment, re-enrollment, reverification and when submitting change requests.

To support a smooth transition:

• Current providers will have a one-year grace period before accreditation verification begins.
• Clear notifications will be sent if accreditation information is missing or needs updating.

Providers are encouraged to review their accreditation status within the coming year to prepare for this update

Provider My Learning Campus Remindert

To find updated and current Provider Trainings, please visit: Provider My Learning Campus or  this list of provider trainings.