We were formed to give behavioral health providers a unified voice!
The Arizona Behavioral Health Alliance (AZBHA) was created because too many good providers in Arizona are being pushed to the edge — not by a lack of commitment to patients, but by a system that is not working the way it should.
Providers across the state have faced the same pattern: delayed or unpaid claims, contracting decisions that shut qualified providers out of networks, reimbursement that does not keep pace with the real cost of care, and rules that are applied unevenly. When AHCCCS, ADHS, and the managed care organizations that administer public behavioral health dollars fail to apply the law consistently and fairly, the people who suffer first are providers. The people who suffer next are the individuals and families waiting for care.
AZBHA exists to change that. We were formed to give behavioral health providers a unified voice — one that cannot be ignored — and to demand a system that is accountable, transparent, and fair.
Arizona’s public behavioral health system depends on providers to deliver care. But too often, the system works against the very organizations doing the work.
Payment is not reliable. Managed care organizations receive public dollars to administer care, then delay, deny, or underpay claims for services already delivered. Providers are left carrying the cost of care while waiting weeks or months to be paid.
Contracts are not awarded fairly. Qualified, licensed providers are being denied or dropped from contracts while network access and continuity of care suffer. Contracting decisions too often look like cost-cutting, not quality.
Rates do not cover the cost of care. Provider costs have risen far faster than reimbursement. When rates stay flat and expenses climb, good programs shrink, close, or stop taking public-pay patients.
Oversight is uneven. After years of fraud enforcement, legitimate providers have been swept into the same delays, prepayment reviews, licensing bottlenecks, and compliance pressure that were meant for bad actors. Rules should be enforced. They should also be applied correctly and consistently.
There is not enough transparency. Providers are expected to follow complex AHCCCS, ADHS, and health-plan requirements, yet too often cannot get clear answers, timely decisions, or a fair process when those agencies or plans get it wrong.
This is not just a business problem. When good providers cannot get paid, cannot get a contract, or cannot get a fair hearing, access to care disappears.
AZBHA exists to make the system work the way the law already requires it to work.
Elevate the provider voice. Policymakers and agencies hear from health plans and state offices every day. They need to hear from the providers delivering the care.
Demand accountability. AHCCCS, ADHS, and managed care organizations should be held to the same standards they impose on providers: follow the law, apply it fairly, and answer for the results.
Insist on transparency. Providers deserve clear rules, consistent enforcement, timely payment, and a process that is open — not a moving target.
Protect fair payment and fair contracting. Public dollars should reach the providers actually serving members. Good providers should be able to obtain and keep contracts based on quality and capacity, not favoritism or cost-shifting.
Strengthen the system so patients get care. When providers are stable, staffed, and paid, Arizonans get the behavioral health services they need.
Services
Explore our range of services designed to help you move forward with confidence, wherever you're headed next.
Clients
We’re honored to have our work recognized in a range of publications, platforms, and press features.