Credentialing Guru

04/14/2026

Is your facility growing—or just "applying"? 🛑
For years, I’ve been known as the Credentialing Guru. But in the 2026 landscape, "just getting credentialed" isn't enough to keep a facility's doors open. Between closed panels, narrow networks, and shifting payer requirements, the old ways of simply filling out forms are failing.

I’m reframing how we help the SUD and Behavioral Health community. We aren't just checking boxes; we are architecting Network Access.

How can we help you?

🏢 FOR FACILITY OWNERS & SUD PROVIDERS: Are you tired of hearing "the panel is closed"? We specialize in Strategic Market Access. We don’t just submit applications; we use data-driven advocacy and network adequacy analysis to force payers to the table. If you are looking to secure high-leverage contracts or expand your service lines (like Teen SUD or JUSTICE DIRECTED CARE), we provide the executive-level strategy to make it happen.

💼 FOR CREDENTIALING PROFESSIONALS: Are you ready to move beyond data entry? The industry is shifting. To survive as a pro in 2026, you need to understand Payer Portfolio Strategy. I’m here to help you level up from "clerical support" to a "Strategic Partner" for the facilities you serve.

Especially in saturated markets in So. Calif or Florida... It isn't as simple as filling out applications anymore.

The 2026 market is becoming more an more restricted, but the opportunities are there for those who know how to find the leverage.

👇 Which one are you? Drop a comment below or DM me. Let’s talk about how we secure your seat at the payer table.

04/08/2026

Currently, the standard drugs used to address opioid use disorder are themselves opioids, which adds to the stigma around addiction and makes accessing treatment challenging. The most common opioid used in this harm reduction approach is methadone, which has existed since the 1960s.

“What if you had to go somewhere, wait in a line, stand there while you're dosed, and do that every single morning of your life?” Stephen Loyd, M.D., an internal medicine and addiction medicine physician at Cedar Recovery in Tennessee, told Fierce. “If you had a tool that didn't carry that baggage, it's not only a needle changer, it is a paradigm shifter.”

The treatment paradigm is shifting. SUD-BH Providers need to be on top of their game.

04/06/2026

For SUD and BH facility owners/providers. We have a new guidebook.

finally put this together—for SUD facilities.

Over the years, I’ve worked with treatment centers trying to figure out one of the hardest parts of opening and growing a program:

👉 getting in-network with insurance
👉 navigating payer enrollment for detox, RTC, PHP, and IOP
👉 understanding what payers actually require (and what they don’t tell you)

And I kept seeing the same thing…

Facilities losing months of time and significant revenue because the process wasn’t clear, the sequence was wrong, or something small was missing.

So I wrote the guide I wish every SUD operator had from the beginning.

This is not a general credentialing book.
It is specifically for substance use disorder treatment facilities.

It walks through:

✔ Facility enrollment
How to set up your business correctly.
✔ ASAM levels of care and how they impact applications
✔ 42 CFR Part 2 in the context of credentialing
✔ SAMHSA, DEA, and state licensing interplay
✔ Behavioral health carve-outs (Carelon, Optum, etc.)
✔ What documentation payers actually ask for- program specifics,
✔ Why applications get delayed or denied—and how to avoid it
Sample applications and checklists- so you can see exactly what payers are asking for.


If you’re opening a facility, expanding, or trying to stabilize your payer mix, this will give you a clear roadmap.

There is nothing like this on the market - it is a one of a kind book.

https://livewise2023.gumroad.com/l/zeslb?_gl=1*12iui8o*_ga*MTU4NDAzODQ3MC4xNzY3MTM0ODA2*_ga_6LJN6D94N6*czE3NzU1MDgzMzgkbzMzJGcxJHQxNzc1NTA5MDA1JGo2MCRsMCRoMA..

04/01/2026

For behavioral health providers or those in credentialing those providers- who need some extra help in what the 2026 updates are to the JACHO standards. I have put together a summary. If you are interested-check it out.

ifccredentialing.com

If you’ve ever opened the Joint Commission Behavioral Health manual and thought,“Where do I even start?” — this guide was created for you.This is a clear, structured breakdown of the most important Joint Commission Behavioral Health standards — translated into plain language with real-worl...

03/18/2026

For years I have watched credentialing professionals struggle with the same problem.

They know how to complete payer enrollments, but they have never been taught how to price their work.

Most credentialing consultants enter the field from billing, administration, or provider operations. They understand CAQH, PECOS, Medicaid enrollment, payer portals, and the technical process of credentialing.

But the business side of credentialing consulting is rarely discussed.

And the result is predictable.

Consultants often charge based on how long they think an application should take — not on the true lifecycle of payer enrollment.

The reality is that the application is only the beginning.

The real work happens in the weeks and months that follow:

• payer portal monitoring
• documentation requests
• corrections and resubmissions
• follow-ups with credentialing departments
• resolving administrative friction between providers and payers

In many credentialing projects, follow-ups alone consume 60–70% of the total labor.

This is why so many credentialing professionals feel like they are working far harder than they are being paid for.

Over the past several months, I began organizing my own time-tracking data, contractor invoices, and pricing models to better understand the economics of credentialing consulting.

That process turned into something larger.

I’ve just finished writing a new resource:

The Credentialing Consultant’s Pricing Workbook:
How to Price Insurance Credentialing and Provider Enrollment Services. Check it out ! It will change how you think about pricing your services.

ow to Price Insurance Credentialing and Provider Enrollment ServicesMost credentialing professionals know how to complete payer enrollments.But very few know how to price their services properly.As a result, many credentialing consultants unknowingly undercharge, overwork, and struggle to build sust...

03/12/2026

Some people have beautifully organized desks.
Color-coded folders.
Neatly stacked papers.
A calm workspace where everything has a place.
And then there are the rest of us…

The “creative filing system” professionals — where important documents live somewhere inside a small mountain of papers, sticky notes, coffee cans, and the occasional pen that has mysteriously lost its cap.

The truth is, organization doesn’t come naturally to everyone.

But studies show that cluttered workspaces actually increase stress and reduce our ability to focus because the brain has to process all the visual noise around us. When things are organized, our brains can concentrate on the work that actually matters.

So if your desk occasionally looks like a paper tornado passed through… you’re not alone.

Just remember: sometimes purpose and productivity start with something very simple —

clearing one small corner of your desk.
(And maybe finding that document you printed three days ago.)

If your desk looks like this… don’t worry.
Mine has looked this way too.
But when it comes to credentialing, payer enrollment, and practice operations, a good system makes all the difference.

If you’re a behavioral health facility owner/provider who needs help getting organized with credentialing and contracting or growing your practice— I’m always happy to talk..

03/11/2026

working on our website. We have neglected it... https://ifccredentialing.com/

still not sure I love it. BUT... that being said. Our goal is to have more resources available and to highlight our services specific to coaching and consulting for other credentialing professionals. Personal and customized. We want to share what we know. Let us know if you have questions about how to best work with SUD
facilities and groups

Credentialing, consulting and insurance enrollment and contracting for mental health providers, facilities and groups.

02/27/2026

Starting and growing your business. The details behind the work that can sink your or help you blossom.

I had a great conversation yesterday with a fellow who was leaving Blue Cross Blue Shield- internal network management - to open his own small business. I was thinking in my head "good for you-BCBS is a hot mess- can you give me a secret phone number ?" 😁

What is his new business ? A cookie business !!! YAY- I love cookies. He told me about his plan, his passion was he loved baking- His product and how he was going to do this and that. I thought he had a great idea- it's amazing how you can think out of the box about a COOKIE business. I won't give away his secrets but I sat there thinking how many people I knew that I could connect him with that could create sales for him.

He had his business message down pretty good and was ready with samples.

Think about your business...you may have enough ongoing business that you don't feel the need to craft a good business message. who are you and what do you do?

"I sell cookies" That is not good enough.

1. Name of your business.

2. Your service ( or product).

3. Why is your service or product different or better?

Here is the wild thing. Down the road, you can change this ! You get a new idea, you expand your services- something new to offer. Craft a new message.

Think about who your customers are now. Are you measuring that success? I don't mean "tracking your applications" How happy are your clients?

Take a few minutes and journal about whether your interactions and communications are attracting the interest of customers, contributing to securing that agreement and are your good results increasing profits.

I realized after talking to the cookie guy there was a revenue model that might work for me that I had not considered.

**** If any of you are in the Dallas-Fort worth North metro and want a good cookie guy- let me know. ☺️

If you are looking for help in your provider business let me know.

02/23/2026

Congratulations to the USA Hockey Team on bringing home Gold 🇺🇸🥇
We love sports in our family. While hockey isn’t our sport — we’re more of a track & field household with a bit of basketball mixed in — the mindset of high performers is universal. while I wasn't the athlete in the family. My role was support. Cheering, driving to games, cheering - arguing with refs, buying pole vault poles, shoes, shoes, shoes - that's what Mom's do. 😁
Sports have a way of teaching lessons that extend far beyond competition:
Discipline. Resilience. Goal orientation. Healthy competitiveness.

And perhaps most importantly — teamwork.

High performers understand something fundamental: You must love the game and give 100% to the effort.

Excellence is rarely about talent alone. It’s about consistency, commitment, and showing up fully — especially when it’s hard.

Thank you, USA Hockey, for the reminder. I'm proud of you. Congrats on an incredible achievement.

01/26/2026

Waiting on credentialing? Your patients still need care.

If your in-network application has been submitted and is still pending (and yes — 90+ days is common), that doesn’t mean treatment has to stop or be delayed.

When a patient needs medically necessary care before your network effective date, your billing team can request a Single Case Agreement (SCA) with the payer.

An SCA allows you to:
✔️ Treat a specific patient
✔️ Get paid at agreed-upon rates
✔️ While your credentialing is still in process

It’s temporary, case-specific, and designed to protect continuity of care — not replace network participation.

If you’re pending INN and a patient needs services now, ask:
👉 “Can we request a Single Case Agreement?”

Care doesn’t wait — and with the right process, neither should your practice.

if you need more info on how to manage a single case agreement see our library of resources

Credentialing delays are normal — but patient care can’t wait. This Single Case Agreement (SCA) Resource Bundle was created for providers and practice owners who are pending in-network and need a clear, compliant way to treat patients and get paid in the meantime. Inside, you’ll find plain-lan...

01/13/2026

Life is not for the faint of heart.

It will knock the breath out of you, sometimes before breakfast. It hands out losses and disappointments with a casual shrug, as if to say, Yes, this too. You don’t get a warning. You don’t get a manual. You just get up, again and again, and do the best you can with what’s left in your hands. And somehow—miraculously—there are moments of astonishing beauty tucked right in the middle of the mess. Which makes the joy feel sharper, truer, earned.

The struggle is real, and it’s not just the big catastrophes. It’s the daily grind, the quiet griefs, the hopes that wobble, the plans that don’t pan out. These are the things that sand us down and shape us. They don’t make us perfect, but they make us honest. And they teach us how sweet the good moments are when they finally show up.

Most of the things we say to ourselves—the little phrases, the mantras, the steady reassurances—aren’t about being brave in public. They’re about survival. They’re how we talk ourselves through the day. How we stay upright. How we remind ourselves that we’re still here, still trying, still allowed to hope.

Now - get to work and call that payer.

If you need help setting up a new practice or taking on credentialing on your own-let us know. happy to help.

12/26/2025

HAPPY DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS - HERE WE GO 2026

January is the best time to clean up insurance credentialing before payer backlogs hit.

We are offering a January Credentialing Jumpstart for behavioral health providers who want to get positioned for payer panel in-network status without the overwhelm.

who want to start the year positioned for in-network success.

✔ CAQH audit, review, re-attesting & cleanup

✔ Medicare and Medicaid application

✔ Roster cleanup & provider adds

✔ Submission to 1–2 commercial payers

✔ Fee schedule review or contract rate increase request

✔ A Single Flat-Fee, done-for-you sprint

Limited January availability.

Comment “Jumpstart” or message me if you’d like details.

Perfect for small group practice or single providers. For OBOT or MAT looking for accreditation help: send me a message.