Temporary Changes to Referral and Authorization Processes Ending November 30, 2026

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of MaineCare Services, issued this provider bulletin on November 3, 2026, announcing the end of a temporary waiver of its Single Assessment requirement. Effective December 1, 2026, the Department will require that MaineCare members have a completed Single Assessment within the preceding 12 months before the Department processes referrals, prior authorization requests, and continued stay reviews for children's medium- and high-intensity services. The Department had previously reinstated direct-to-provider referral and prior authorization processes on a temporary basis while operational challenges with the Single Assessment process were being resolved. That temporary pathway terminates November 30, 2026, returning the program to its standard assessment-first workflow. The bulletin states that the Single Assessment process has stabilized, with assessments now completed in an average of 7.5 business days after a request is submitted. No grace period beyond November 30, 2026 is announced for the temporary direct-to-provider pathway.