Feb. 9, 2026
In accordance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, primary care physicians don’t need to submit referrals for our commercial members to see in-network behavioral health providers.
For referrals to see an out-of-network behavioral health provider, PCPs must call the provider services number on the member’s ID card to request a behavioral health network exception. There is currently not an option to submit this type of request in Availity® Essentials.
Availity is a trademark of Availity, LLC, a separate company that operates a health information network to provide electronic information exchange services to medical professionals. Availity provides administrative services to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. BCBSTX makes no endorsement, representations or warranties regarding third party vendors and the products and services they offer.