Posts by Barrett Merrill
How Your EHR Can Make or Break Your CARF Accreditation Process
For many behavioral health organizations, CARF accreditation is a major milestone. It signals quality. It builds credibility. And in many cases, it’s essential for growth, payer relationships, and long-term sustainability. But here’s what often gets overlooked: Your success in the CARF accreditation process is deeply tied to how your EHR is set up—and how your…
Read More8 Steps to Prepare Your Team for a Medicaid Audit
If you run a Medicaid-focused behavioral health organization, a Medicaid audit isn’t a matter of if—it’s a matter of when. And when it happens, the difference between a smooth audit and a disruptive, stressful one usually comes down to one thing: How prepared your team is before the audit ever begins. The good news? Audit…
Read MoreWhy Staying Up-to-Date on Medicaid Is No Longer Optional
If you run a Medicaid-focused behavioral health organization, you’ve probably felt it already: Things are changing faster than they used to. Billing rules shift. Documentation requirements evolve. Payers introduce new edits. States roll out policy updates that don’t always get communicated clearly—or consistently. And the reality is this: Staying up-to-date on Medicaid is no longer…
Read MoreCheckpoint EHR Announces Strategic Partnership with Gabrielle Juliano-Villani to Strengthen Medicaid Consulting Support for Behavioral Health Providers
New partnership expands access to expert Medicaid guidance and operational clarity for growing behavioral health organizations Nashville, TN — April 1st, 2026 — Checkpoint EHR, a leading provider of mission-critical EHR infrastructure for outpatient behavioral health organizations, today announced a strategic partnership with Gabrielle Juliano-Villani, founder of GJV Consulting & Training, as its premier Medicaid…
Read MoreHow to Resolve Ohio PNM Denials and MCO Payment Delays: A 2026 Guide for Providers
When payment stops, administrative patience runs thin. For many Ohio agencies and practices, the shift to the Provider Network Management (PNM) module has created a “data misalignment” trap. While the PNM is supposed to be the single source of truth, claims are being denied by Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) because their internal systems haven’t synced…
Read More6 Steps to Keep Your Therapy Practice Audit-Ready
Did you miss our previous blog, The Top 7 Auditing Red Flags for Providers? If so, be sure to give it a read here. For many therapy practice owners, “audit readiness” sounds like something you deal with after you get a notice in the mail. But the most resilient group practices and agencies treat audit…
Read More5 Unique EHR Needs in Peer Support Documentation
Peer support services play a vital—and often misunderstood—role in the behavioral health ecosystem. Rooted in lived experience rather than clinical diagnosis, peer support brings relational depth, trust, and continuity to care teams serving individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), substance use disorders (SUD), and complex social needs. But while peer support services are distinct in…
Read MoreShould I Hire Therapists as W-2 or 1099?
If you lead a group practice or agency, the W-2 vs. 1099 decision isn’t just a payroll preference—it’s a worker classification decision. And classification is one of those areas where “everyone in my area does 1099” is not a safe strategy. At a high level: W-2 = employee (you withhold/pay certain taxes, you direct the…
Read MoreWhen Does In-House Billing Stop Making Sense for Therapists?
For many group practices and agencies, behavioral health billing starts in-house by default. A founder submits the first few claims themselves. Then maybe an office manager takes it on. Eventually, a “billing person” is hired. And for a while, it works. But at some point—often quietly—billing starts becoming a bottleneck instead of a support function.…
Read MoreA Sustainable Medicaid Mental Health Practice Is Possible
…And it doesn’t require burning yourself out to get there. Many mental health practices accept Medicaid because they care deeply about access to care. They want their practices to serve their local communities, not just those who can pay out of pocket. But then, reality hits. Thin margins. Complicated billing rules. Cash flow that…
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