How to start a behavioral health clinic in Indiana

Indiana requires a DMHA Addiction Treatment Services Provider certification — Outpatient Certification (10 or fewer direct service providers) or Regular Certification (11 or more) from Indiana Family and Social Services Administration — Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA), Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement to operate a behavioral health clinic.

License required

Yes

License

DMHA Addiction Treatment Services Provider certification — Outpatient Certification (10 or fewer direct service providers) or Regular Certification (11 or more)

Issuing agency

Indiana Family and Social Services Administration — Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA), Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement

Renewal

Every 2 years · Outpatient certification expires two years from issuance. Regular certification expires 90 days after the entity's accreditation expires.

Accreditation

Required for regular certification (DMHA-approved accrediting agency); not required for outpatient certification. Indiana was one of ten states added to the federal CCBHC Medicaid demonstration in 2024.

Regulation

440 IAC 4.4 (addiction treatment services provider certification)

1. Decide the certification type: outpatient (10 or fewer direct service providers) or regular (11 or more, accreditation required)
2. Apply in the DMHA Provider Portal (Application for Certification as an Addiction Treatment Services Provider, State Form 55376)
3. Enter required policies and procedures in the portal: admission criteria, 42 CFR Part 2 confidentiality, intake assessments, consumer progress, consumer rights, discharge planning, treatment planning
4. Upload a current fire/safety inspection report and, if offering withdrawal management, a CEO-signed letter confirming physician or CNS supervision
5. For regular certification without accreditation yet, show proof of application to a DMHA-approved accrediting body and achieve accreditation within 24 months

Staffing

• Withdrawal management must be supervised by a physician or clinical nurse specialist licensed in Indiana

Program

Indiana Health Coverage Programs (IHCP) — Indiana Medicaid

Enrollment portal

IHCP Provider Healthcare Portal (IHCP Portal)

Fiscal agent

Gainwell Technologies (IHCP fiscal agent for provider enrollment and revalidation)

Application fee

IHCP's Risk Category and Application Fee Matrix shows which specialties owe the fee. Proof of electronic payment (or of payment to Medicare or another state) must come with the application, and a separate fee is due for each service location at initial enrollment, revalidation and change of ownership. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.460): the state must collect the CMS application fee from institutional providers that are newly enrolling or re-enrolling; individual physicians and non-physician practitioners are exempt, as are providers already enrolled in (or that already paid the fee to) Medicare or another state's Medicaid/CHIP. CMS set the fee at $750 for calendar year 2026.

Fingerprinting

In Indiana, every individual with 5%+ ownership or control of a high-risk enrolling entity must finish Medicaid fingerprinting before the application is submitted, and the fingerprint confirmation number goes on the application. IHCP may assign a higher risk level than its matrix shows. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.434, 455.450(c)): providers the state places in the 'high' categorical risk level, and anyone owning 5% or more of such a provider, must submit fingerprints for a criminal background check.

Site visit

Federal rule (42 CFR 455.432, 455.450(b)-(c)): the state must do site visits before and after enrollment for providers in the 'moderate' or 'high' risk levels, and any enrolled provider must allow unannounced on-site inspections.

Revalidation

IHCP has said DME and home medical equipment providers (including pharmacies with DME/HME specialties) revalidate every three years and other specialties every five years. Due-date lists are published through December 2026, and revalidation is done in the IHCP Portal or by mail packet. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.414): every enrolled provider must be revalidated at least once every 5 years.

Full Indiana Medicaid enrollment guide →

CON program

Yes

Program

Certificate of Need for Comprehensive Care Health Facilities

Agency

Indiana Department of Health (Long-Term Care)

Services covered

• comprehensive care health facilities (nursing homes): new facilities, added beds, bed transfers and Medicaid certification of beds

Moratoria

Except as the CON chapter allows, comprehensive care beds may not be added or transferred, new comprehensive care facilities may not be built, and Medicaid certification of comprehensive care beds may not be added or transferred (IC 16-29-7-10). A CON may not be granted where the receiving county's comprehensive care occupancy is below 85% or would drop below 85%.

Indiana certificate of need details →

State minimum wage

$7.25 an hour

Effective

2009-07-24

Scheduled increases

No scheduled change found in the official sources reviewed.

Rate pass-through

From 2025-07-01, for the Health and Wellness, TBI and PathWays for Aging 1915(c) waivers and Money Follows the Person, attendant care providers must spend at least 70% of the hourly rate on direct-service compensation, and structured family caregiving providers at least 60% of the daily rate on caregiver stipends and direct-service pay. Providers sign a compliance attestation and keep records for audit.

HCBS 80/20 rule

Federal baseline: 42 CFR 441.302(k) requires the state to show that each provider spends at least 80% of Medicaid payments for homemaker, home health aide and personal care services under 1915(c) waivers on direct care worker pay and benefits. Compliance starts 2030-07-09 (for managed care, the first rating period starting on or after that date); annual payment-adequacy reporting under 441.311(e) starts 2028-07-09. A state may set a lower share for state-defined small providers and exempt providers facing hardship, each only through a public notice-and-comment process. The eCFR text has not changed since 2024-07-09. No state-published 80/20 implementation step (small-provider criteria, hardship exemption or reporting guidance) was found for this state in the official sources reviewed.

Community/behavioral health agencies and mental health clinics — active organization NPIs (NPPES)

1,263 (as of Sep 13, 2026)

Total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment (latest reported month)

1,358,600 (as of Jun 1, 2026)

All Indiana Behavioral health Medicaid rates, ranked →

• Adult 1915(i) programs — Adult Mental Health Habilitation (AMHH) and Behavioral and Primary Healthcare Coordination (BPHC) (1915(i))
• Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver (1915(c))
• Child Mental Health Wraparound (CMHW) (1915(i))
• Family Supports Waiver (1915(c))
• Health & Wellness Waiver (1915(c))
• PathWays for Aging Waiver (1915(c))
• Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver (1915(c))

Indiana waivers and waiting lists →