Free tool
Behavioral health carve-out lookup
Pick the payer on the front of the card and the plan. See who actually administers the mental health benefit, where to verify it and which line to call.
Pick the payer on the front of the card, then the plan, to see who actually administers the behavioral health benefit and where to verify it.
The full routing table
Every combination the lookup knows, in one place.
| Card says | Plan | Behavioral health administered by | Verify behavioral benefits at | Provider line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealthcare | Commercial (Choice Plus, POS, HealthSelect) | Optum | Provider Express (providerexpress.com) | 877-614-0484 |
| UnitedHealthcare | Surest | Optum | Provider Express | 877-614-0484 |
| UnitedHealthcare | Medicare Advantage or AARP Medicare Advantage | Optum | Provider Express | 877-614-0484 |
| UnitedHealthcare | AARP Medicare Supplement | None (follows Original Medicare) | Your state's Medicare contractor | |
| UnitedHealthcare | UMR | Varies by employer group | Set by the employer | Number on the card |
| UnitedHealthcare | GEHA or UHC Shared Services | Optum | Provider Express | 800-821-6136 |
| UnitedHealthcare | HealthSCOPE Benefits | Not published | Varies by group | 844-600-0921 |
| Cigna | Commercial or employer plan | Evernorth | Evernorth (provider.evernorth.com) | 800-926-2273 |
| Cigna | Behavioral EAP | Evernorth EAP | Evernorth EAP | 800-926-2273 |
| Cigna | Medicare (HealthSpring) | Evernorth network | Evernorth | 800-282-4548 (Availity support) |
| Aetna | Commercial or HMO | Aetna (no carve-out) | Availity Essentials | 888-632-3862 |
| Aetna | Medicare Advantage | Aetna (no carve-out) | Availity Essentials | 800-624-0756 |
| Aetna | Meritain Health | Not published, varies by group | Varies by group | 800-566-9311 |
| Aetna | Allied Benefit Systems | Not published | Varies by group | Number on the card |
| Aetna | Allegiance | Not published | Varies by group | 800-877-1122 |
| Aetna | Angle Health | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | 855-937-1811 |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | Florida Blue (commercial) | Lucet | Lucet WebPass (webpass.ndbh.com) | 877-709-6822 |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | Florida Blue Medicare Advantage | Lucet | Lucet | 877-709-6822 |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | Anthem | Commonly Carelon | Carelon (or Availity payer ID BHOVO) | 800-397-1630 |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | Empire BCBS, now Anthem (New York) | Carelon | Carelon | 800-397-1630 |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | Excellus BCBS (New York) | Excellus (in-house) | Excellus | Number on the card |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | Highmark BCBS of Western or Northeastern NY | Highmark Behavioral Health | Highmark | Number on the card |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | Out-of-state Blue (BlueCard) | The member's home plan | Depends on the alpha prefix | 800-676-2583 |
| Other commercial | EmblemHealth (New York) | Carelon | Carelon | 800-397-1630 |
| Other commercial | AvMed (Florida) | Optum | Optum | Number on the card |
| Other commercial | MVP Health Care (New York) | MVP | MVP | Number on the card |
| Medicare | Original Medicare Part B | None (no carve-out) | Same | 866-454-9007 |
| Medicare | Railroad Medicare | None | Same | 888-355-9165 |
Why the card is not enough
Many plans hand mental health and substance use benefits to a separate administrator. The company on the card handles the medical benefit, and a different company sets the copay, the network and the authorization rules for therapy. Checking only the company on the card is how a claim that looked verified still gets denied. The carve-out guide explains how this works.
Last reviewed October 2026. Phone numbers and portals verified 13 August 2026 against payer sources. Payer phone trees, portal names and carve-out arrangements change without notice, and self-funded groups can change administrators at renewal. Confirm against the member's card and the portal on the date of service. Company and product names belong to their owners and are used for identification only, with no affiliation or endorsement implied.
Common questions
How do I know who administers a patient's behavioral health benefit?
Check the back of the card for a separate behavioral health phone number, look for an administrator such as Optum, Evernorth, Carelon, Lucet or Magellan, and confirm during the eligibility check. The lookup on this page shows the usual routing for each major plan.
Which company handles behavioral health for UnitedHealthcare?
For nearly every UnitedHealthcare plan, Optum, verified on Provider Express. UMR and HealthSCOPE groups vary by employer.
Which company handles behavioral health for Cigna?
Evernorth, for all Cigna plans including Cigna Medicare.
Does Aetna carve out behavioral health?
No. Aetna administers behavioral health in-house for its commercial and Medicare plans, verified on Availity. Aetna-adjacent plans such as Meritain and Allied vary by group.
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