What a service delivery location is
OAR 309-008-0200 defines a service delivery location as the office, facility, location, or other physical premises where behavioral health treatment services are provided or will be provided. The same rule says the letter that comes with the certificate details the scope and the approved service delivery locations.
OAR 309-008-0900 repeats that every certificate is accompanied by a letter that lists all approved service delivery locations. If the address you plan to use is missing from that letter, treat the COA amendment as unfinished work before you schedule clients there or put the site on a Medicaid or CCO roster.
The 60-day request and the 45-day review clock
OAR 309-008-1000 sets two clocks for location and scope changes:
- The Division must receive the written request at least 60 days before the desired effective date.
- The Division makes reasonable efforts to decide within 45 days of receiving the request.
Count the 60 days from the day the Division receives a complete request. If you want to open on March 1, for example, the complete request has to arrive by December 31.
The same rule covers designating a new program director. The Division aims to decide within 30 days of receiving the request and qualifications. If an emergency forces a designation before approval, the provider must submit the request within 15 calendar days of the new designation. That path is separate from adding a site. Programs that expand often change leadership at the same time, so keep both tracks on one timeline.
What belongs in the application packet
OAR 309-008-0400 covers initial certification, renewal, and existing providers that add or relocate service delivery locations or change the scope approved on the current certificate. The application has to be completed on Division forms. For a multi-location applicant, one application can cover every site, as long as the packet includes documentation the Division can use to evaluate each location.
Under OAR 309-008-0400, the completed application must include:
- A detailed implementation plan for the proposed services that lines up with the applicable service delivery rules
- A written attestation that the applicant will meet and maintain substantial compliance with those rules
- A description of each service delivery location, including the type and scope of behavioral health treatment services at that site
- Credentialing policies for individual practitioners
- Liability insurance coverage that lists all covered service delivery locations
- Seclusion and restraint policies and procedures
- The Code of Conduct
- Disclosure of anyone with a 5 percent or greater ownership interest
- Licensing and certification history for the applicant and disclosed owners, including adverse actions
- Disclosure of any substantiated findings of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment by the applicant, owner, or program staff
Before you submit, check two items that are easy to miss: the insurance certificate has to list the new address along with the original suite, and the ownership disclosure has to include every owner at 5 percent or more.
Reviews, posting, and what the certificate does not transfer
OAR 309-008-0700 lets the Division inspect service delivery locations as part of certification reviews. The Division may also complete some reviews from submitted documents and phone interviews, without a physical visit. Expect either path when you add a site, and keep the new premises ready for inspectors.
OAR 309-008-0300 sets terms that matter after approval:
- Post the certificate or a legible copy, plus the accompanying letter that notes approved service delivery locations, in a public space at each approved site
- Provide only the services listed in the scope on the certificate
- Do not treat the certificate as transferable to another location without Division approval
Opening at a new address without that letter, or without the certificate posted there, puts the program outside those terms.
After the COA letter updates: Medicaid and CCOs
A COA amendment does not update Medicaid enrollment by itself. OAR 410-120-1260 requires enrolled providers to notify the Authority in writing on Authority forms within 35 calendar days of a material change that affects qualifications or eligibility, including a change in business service location. OHA's Provider Enrollment page tells providers to submit updates within 30 days and to search for "Provider update" for address, contact, taxonomy, and similar changes. Organizations use the OHA 3972 packet and related forms linked from that page. Use the earlier of the two clocks: 30 days for location updates, and keep both sources on file.
Federal screening treats a new practice location like an initial application. Under 42 CFR 455.450, state Medicaid agencies must screen initial applications, including applications for a new practice location, by categorical risk level (limited, moderate, or high). Moderate and high risk categories include on-site visits under 42 CFR 455.432. Plan for screening and a possible site visit when you add the address to the Medicaid record.
Fee-for-service enrollment updates and CCO site or roster updates are separate. Contact each contracted coordinated care organization for its process to add or relocate an office. CCO credentialing sits under the framework in OAR 410-141-3510. Do not assume that an OHA location update flows through to every plan roster on its own.
A short checklist
- Confirm the current certificate letter and identify every address missing from it.
- Request Division forms for adding or relocating a service delivery location under OAR 309-008-0400 and OAR 309-008-1000.
- Submit the written request so the Division receives it at least 60 days before the desired effective date.
- Attach the implementation plan, compliance attestation, site descriptions, credentialing policies, insurance listing every covered location, seclusion and restraint policies, Code of Conduct, ownership disclosure, licensing history, and abuse or neglect disclosures.
- Keep the new site ready for an on-site visit or a document review under OAR 309-008-0700.
- After approval, post the certificate and letter at each approved location.
- File the Medicaid provider update within 30 days (the earlier of OHA's 30-day guidance and the 35-day material-change rule) and expect screening that can include a site visit.
- Notify each contracted CCO about the new or relocated office under that plan's site-add process.
Saint Health Group supports Oregon behavioral health programs with licensing and accreditation work when they open or relocate certified sites.
Sources
- Oregon Public Law / Oregon Secretary of State, OAR 309-008-1000, Modification to Certification (SOS)
- Oregon Public Law / Oregon Secretary of State, OAR 309-008-0400, The Application Process
- Oregon Public Law / Oregon Secretary of State, OAR 309-008-0200, Definitions
- Oregon Public Law / Oregon Secretary of State, OAR 309-008-0300, Terms of Certification
- Oregon Public Law / Oregon Secretary of State, OAR 309-008-0900, Issuing Certificates
- Oregon Public Law / Oregon Secretary of State, OAR 309-008-0700, Types of Reviews
- Oregon Secretary of State, OAR 410-120-1260, Provider Enrollment
- Oregon Health Authority, OHP Provider Enrollment
- eCFR, 42 CFR 455.450, Screening levels for Medicaid providers
- eCFR, 42 CFR 455.432, Site visits by Medicaid agencies
- Oregon Secretary of State, OAR 410-141-3510, Provider Contracting and Credentialing
Easton Hallock is Managing Partner at Saint Health Group. He works with Oregon behavioral health and SUD programs on licensing and accreditation, credentialing, and payer enrollment.
