A mental health therapist fears retaliation from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona after publicly criticizing changes the insurance company made.
Brianna Reinhold, a licensed professional counselor, called out Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, also known as AZ Blue, during an interview in January over new rules for mental health providers. On New Year’s Day, the insurance company rolled out requirements that supervisors like Reinhold handle patient intake and develop a treatment plan before transitioning care to a licensed associate.
“I am back to essentially being an intake specialist with almost 15 years of experience clicking boxes because they’re saying that the licensed associates are not qualified,” Reinhold said in January. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve actually had my associates call me crying.”
Reinhold said her business, Northern Lights Therapy, stopped accepting new Blue Cross clients on Jan. 29.
“Probably 75 to 80% of our caseloads were Blue Cross clients,” she said. “And so what I had to do is I had to start offering reduced cash pay rates because I just didn’t want them to not be able to get services.”
Now she suspects she’s facing retaliation for sharing her concerns publicly.
“So the day after our interview and after it aired, I received a voicemail from an individual at Blue Cross requesting confirmation of our fax number,” said Reinhold.
Not long after that, she received a formal request for medical records.
Reinhold said she has never been audited before by any insurance company. She complied with the request but started asking questions.
In response to a complaint Reinhold filed with the state, AZ Blue officials told her that the review of records dating back to 2022 related to potential fraud, waste or abuse.
“It’s a question that feels personal. It feels like it’s an attack on my integrity,” Reinhold said.
AZ Blue claims the audit began in September, well before her media engagement, but Reinhold said she never heard about it until after the story aired.
“Targeted, again, I want to try and hope not, but the coincidence of it just doesn’t sit right with me,” she said.
When Arizona’s Family asked why Reinhold wasn’t notified or asked to submit medical records until February, an AZ Blue spokesperson replied, “Timelines can vary. Reviews typically begin with an initial study, with additional steps— such as requests for medical records— taken as appropriate."
Reinhold said she respects oversight but deserves clarity.
“We just want people to get care, and we just want transparency from those that help pay it,” she said.
“Since our guidelines were first announced, we have listened closely to provider feedback and made updates to provide greater clarity and support for how they are applied in practice.
We value both positive and critical feedback from providers, and we do not retaliate against providers for raising concerns or speaking publicly. Open dialogue is an important part of improving our policies and processes.
The guidelines were updated to support appropriate care, protect members, and help prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. Healthcare fraud contributes to higher costs for everyone, including higher premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for consumers.
As with all health plans, audits are a standard and necessary tool to ensure billing is accurate and consistent with program requirements. In this case, the review was initiated in September 2025—well before any media engagement. Audits are a routine part of our relationships with providers. Outcomes can range from no findings to corrective action, payment adjustments, or other appropriate steps depending on the results. Audits are conducted in accordance with our standard processes and are not influenced by media activity or public commentary. AZ Blue takes fraud, waste, and abuse seriously and uses established processes to protect members and ensure program integrity.
We’ve been in discussion with the provider and would be happy to continue that conversation, if they’d like to reach out to us directly."
