APS Healthcare is the contractor/administrative services organization (ASO) for Maryland's Public Mental Health System (PMHS) effective October 1, 2004. At that time APS will begin processing your mental health claims, and Maryland Health Partners (MHP) will cease to process your mental health claims.

APS Healthcare has subcontracted with ACS State Healthcare to receive and process all paper and electronic claims. Electronic claims will be submitted to the ACS clearinghouse, called ACS EDI Gateway, located in Tallahassee, Florida. All electronic claims submitted must adhere to the HIPAA-compliant X12N 837 Institutional or X12N 837 Professional formats. Below is information about electronic claims transmissions.

Who must enroll?

Providers, billing agents, clearinghouses, and software vendors must enroll with ACS EDI Gateway to participate in electronic transactions. They will follow the appropriate enrollment procedure below.

1. Go to www.acs-gcro.com/Medicaid_Accounts/Maryland_PMHS/Enrollment/enrollment.htm.
2. Download the EDI Provider Enrollment form and instructions.
3. Mail forms to ACS EDI; Attn: Technical Support/Enrollment;
   PO Box 34734; Washington, DC 20043-4761
4. ACS EDI will enter your information and send you a Trading Partner ID and password .

Billing Agent, Clearinghouse, and Vendor Enrollment:
If you submit claims through a billing agent or clearinghouse, or submit claims directly via vendor-supplied software, please notify the billing agent, clearinghouse or vendor that APS is the proposed new Maryland Mental Health ASO. All parties participating in electronic transmission must enroll with ACS and sign a Trading Partner Agreement. This includes WebMD. The billing agent, clearinghouse or vendor will:

1. Go to: www.acs-gcro.com/Medicaid_Accounts/Maryland_PMHS/Enrollment/enrollment.htm
2. Download the EDI Submitter Enrollment form and instructions, and the Maryland PMHS Trading Partner Agreement .
3. Mail forms to ACS EDI; Attn: Technical Support/Enrollment;
   PO Box 34734; Washington, DC 20043-4761
4. ACS EDI will enter your information and send you a Trading Partner ID and password.

Testing
Submitters must successfully complete testing before beginning to submit to APS/ACS. To perform the necessary tests, the submitter will:

1. Use the Companion Guides from ACS EDI Gateway Services website (www.acs-gcro.com/Medicaid_Accounts/Maryland_PMHS/Companion_Guides/companion_guides.htm) to build test claims.
2. Test with EDIFECS, at the EDIFECS website (www.hipaadesk.com/?ACS) to submit X12N test files for analysis. The trading partner must address all errors discovered by EDIFECS before testing with ACS EDI Gateway.
3. Test with EDI. To initiate EDI testing, contact ACS EDI Support Unit at 1-866-407-2005.
4. After successful testing, an ACS EDI staff member will set you up for production, and you can begin submitting production claims.