Article Detail - JE Part B
Associate Counselors Under Incident To
Noridian has received questions regarding Associate Counselor types - Licensed Agency Affiliated Counselor, (LAAC) or Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC). Each state may have different titles.
An associate counselor does not qualify, based on the counselor provider type requirements, to enroll and bill for Medicare covered services.
An additional area of concern we have seen is the associate counselor working incident to a licensed clinical social worker, mental health counselor, or marriage and family therapist. Due to Scope of Work, these three provider types are not able to supervise anyone incident to their work under Medicare.
The CMS Medical Learning Network (MLN) booklet titled Medicare and Mental Health Coverage advises which provider types can supervise incident to services, and which codes they are able to supervise. For example, an associate counselor working within their State law and Scope of Work, may be considered auxiliary personnel providing mental health services incident to a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse midwife, or clinical psychologist under the appropriate level of supervision.
Note: Medicare does not pay physicians or non-physician practitioners for incident to services in an institutional setting (e.g., hospital, skilled nursing facility).
Review the MLN to determine what type of services you can supervise and be aware of State law and Scope of Work supervision requirements.
