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Insurer guide for therapists

UnitedHealthcare and Optum Credentialing: How Therapists Join

UnitedHealthcare does not credential therapists itself: Optum Behavioral Health credentials and contracts them on UnitedHealthcare's behalf. You apply through Optum's Provider Express site, using Join Our Network, not through UHCprovider.com or Onboard Pro. You need a license to practice without supervision, $1 million/$1 million malpractice cover unless your state sets another amount, and in most states a CAQH profile that matches your application. Optum weighs whether it needs more clinicians where you practice, and publishes no total timeline.

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By Nasar Haq, Founder and CEO, Medtransic. Last reviewed 2026-11-11.

How a therapist reaches the UnitedHealthcare network

Illustrative
  1. 1

    UnitedHealthcare

    sends behavioral providers to Optum

  2. 2

    CAQH profile

    authorized for United Behavioral Health

  3. 3

    Provider Express

    register, then Join Our Network

  4. 4

    Optum review

    CAQH, verification, committee

  5. 5

    Participating

    from the approval date

The route Optum and UnitedHealthcare describe on their own sites. Each step hands off to the next.
Who credentials you
Optum
for UnitedHealthcare
Malpractice
$1M / $1M
or your state's amount
Recredentialing
Every 36 months
unless state law differs
If we do it
$150
per application, per provider

Where UnitedHealthcare Applications Go Wrong

Most delays come from applying to the wrong side of UnitedHealthcare, or from a CAQH profile Optum cannot use.

Applying on the medical side

Onboard Pro and UnitedHealthcare's medical timelines are not for therapists. UnitedHealthcare's own medical join page sends behavioral providers to Provider Express.

CAQH not authorized for Optum

Optum names this among its most common delays. Authorize United Behavioral Health/US Behavioral Health Plan in your CAQH profile.

CAQH and the application disagree

Optum says your CAQH data must match the Network Participation Request Form, and lists mismatched locations as a common delay.

DocuSign requests left waiting

Optum sends missing documents, individual contracts and Disclosure of Ownership forms by DocuSign. Slow returns are on its list of delays.

No need for clinicians where you practice

Optum starts credentialing only after deciding it wants to contract with you, and its plan names network need in its service area as a factor. If it declines, it must tell you why in writing.

01Credentialed clinician by clinician, unless the group is delegated

Group Practices and Optum

In a group without a delegation agreement, Optum credentials every clinician individually. A group contract is offered only in limited circumstances, including at least five providers who will be credentialed, central intake and central billing. Even then, only clinicians Optum has credentialed are in network.

Group contract
5+ providers
limited circumstances
Each clinician
Credentialed
unless delegated
Not yet added
Claims denied
per Optum's manual

Watch forDo not schedule a new clinician's UnitedHealthcare clients until Optum has added them. Optum says claims for a rendering clinician not yet in the network are subject to denial.

02Set by Optum's network manual and telehealth policy

Telehealth With Optum

To be listed as offering telehealth, you attest to Optum's requirements on the Network Participation Request Form or later in Provider Express. You must be licensed where the client is at the time of the session. Commercial telehealth is audio and video with place of service 02 or 10, by where the client is.

To be listed
Attest
on the form or later
License
Client's state
at the time of service
Audio only
Modifier 93
where mandated or covered

Watch forNone of the Optum pages we read describes a separate telehealth-only track for individual clinicians. You join the same way and attest to telehealth.

03Set by Optum's credentialing plan and supervision policy

Pre-Licensed Associates and Optum

Optum requires a license to practice independently, so a pre-licensed associate cannot be credentialed on their own. On commercial plans Optum pays for supervised services in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa and Massachusetts, and elsewhere only where it has previously approved it. Medicare Advantage and E/M services are excluded.

Own credentialing
No
independent license required
Supervised billing
5 states
commercial plans
Medicare Advantage
Excluded
unless federally required

Watch forThe claim rules for supervised services are in our guide to supervisory billing. Check them before an associate sees a UnitedHealthcare client.

What we handle, and what stays with you

Medtransic runs

  • Your Provider Express application, from your state's page to a decision
  • Your CAQH profile, set up and kept current at no extra cost
  • Credentialing at $150 per application, per provider, with no charge if we find the panel closed

Your practice keeps

  • Your license, malpractice cover and signatures
  • Which insurers you join
  • Your clinical work

How to Apply to Optum, Step by Step

Get CAQH right before you open the application: most of Optum's listed delays trace back to it.

  1. 01

    Confirm you qualify

    You need a license to practice independently in every state where you practice, without restrictions, and you must not be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid or any federal health program.

  2. 02

    Get your CAQH profile ready

    CAQH is required in most states, and Optum asks for your CAQH ID on the application. Authorize United Behavioral Health/US Behavioral Health Plan and keep the profile matching your application.

  3. 03

    Register or log in to Provider Express

    Then use Join Our Network in the menu to open the credentialing application, the Network Participation Request Form.

  4. 04

    Send the documents

    Five years of work history in month and year, with gaps of six months or more explained; a W-9; and proof that you meet CMS Medicare and Medicaid requirements. A signed release of information is required.

  5. 05

    Answer DocuSign requests quickly

    Missing documents, your individual contract and any Disclosure of Ownership form come by DocuSign. Corrections are due in writing within 10 business days of Optum's notice.

  6. 06

    Check your status

    In Provider Express, under My Practice Info, My Network Status, Check Initial Credentialing Status. Agencies and group practices call Network Management at 877-614-0484.

Optum tells you its decision within 10 business days of making it, and you become a participating clinician on the approval date. It publishes no total processing time for therapists.

Medicare, Medicaid and Other Rules

California

Optum lists a separate credentialing plan for OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions of California.

Arizona Medicaid

Optum says it is limiting additions to its Arizona Medicaid network, while its commercial and Medicare Advantage networks there stay open to all types of behavioral health providers.

Malpractice cover

$1 million per occurrence and $1 million aggregate for master's and doctoral clinicians; $1 million/$3 million for physicians; or what your state law specifies.

Medicare Advantage

You must not be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid or any federal health program, whatever plan you join. A provider on Medicare's preclusion list is removed from Optum's network with no appeal to Optum.

Medicaid (Community Plan)

State rules come first. Some state Medicaid plans require a Disclosure of Ownership form from individual clinicians.

Recredentialing

Every 36 months unless state law or client policy sets another cycle. Optum reads your CAQH profile, and you send a current copy of your malpractice cover.

Your client portal, included

Your EHR shows what you billed. Your portal shows what we are doing about it.

Your EHR or practice management system runs your practice, but it does not show you our work. The Medtransic HIPAA Compliant Portal does: every claim and its current stage, the denials we are working, your A/R by age, each payer application and its in-network date, and the documents we still need from you. It is the same record our team works from, and it comes with every client account.

Did that claim get paid?
Every claim with its stage and amount, the denials we're working, and your receivables by age.
Where is my application with Aetna?
Each payer application shows its stage, its history, and the date you can start seeing that payer's patients.
What do you still need from me?
One list of the documents we're waiting on. Upload once, and it reaches every payer that asked for it.
See the client portal →
The billing screen in the Medtransic client portal: totals billed, paid, adjusted and outstanding, a twelve-month chart and A/R by age.
The billing screen. Shown with sample data. It works in any browser, on your desk or your phone. iPhone and Android apps are coming soon.

When UnitedHealthcare Can Wait

  • If Optum denied you or ended your participation in the last 24 months, for any reason other than network need, you cannot apply yet. Spend that time on other insurers.
  • If Optum declines you for network need, it tells you in writing. A single case agreement or a superbill can cover a UnitedHealthcare client in the meantime.

Questions about UnitedHealthcare and Optum credentialing

Is Optum the same as UnitedHealthcare for therapists?

For credentialing, yes in effect: UnitedHealthcare says Optum Behavioral Health handles credentialing and contracting on its behalf. Optum's legal entity for this is United Behavioral Health.

How long does Optum credentialing take?

Optum publishes no total time for therapists. It tells you its decision within 10 business days of making it, and in our experience credentialing usually takes 60 to 90 days with each payer.

What is the phone number for Optum credentialing?

UnitedHealthcare lists 800-817-4705 to get started with Optum Behavioral Health. For status, agencies and groups call Network Management at 877-614-0484; Optum's manual gives that line's hours as Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central.

How do I check my Optum credentialing status?

Log in to Provider Express and open My Practice Info, then My Network Status, then Check Initial Credentialing Status. Agencies and group practices call 877-614-0484.

Does Optum require CAQH?

In most states, yes. Optum says CAQH participation is required in the majority of states, your CAQH data must match your application, and United Behavioral Health must be authorized to read it.

What malpractice insurance does Optum require?

$1 million per occurrence and $1 million aggregate for master's and doctoral clinicians, and $1 million/$3 million for physicians, unless state law sets a different amount.

Is the UnitedHealthcare network closed to therapists?

Optum does not publish one answer. Its credentialing plan names network need in its service area as a factor, and it must tell you in writing, with the reason, if it declines you. Optum also says it is limiting additions to its Arizona Medicaid network.

Can a pre-licensed therapist get credentialed with Optum?

No. Optum requires a license to practice without supervision. Supervised services are paid on commercial plans in five states, and elsewhere only with Optum's prior approval.

Can I reapply after Optum denies me?

Not for 24 months if the denial or termination was for a reason other than network need. Optum may offer an appeal at its committee's discretion, unless state law requires one.

Can you credential me with UnitedHealthcare?

Yes. We handle the Optum application and your CAQH profile for $150 per application, per provider, with no charge if we find the panel closed.

Keep reading

+ Sources: 9 checked 2026-11-11

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