How to start an IOP or PHP in Amarillo

Amarillo at a glance

Question	Amarillo's answer
State license	HHSC chemical dependency treatment facility license for each site (26 TAC 564)
Medicaid service area	Lubbock: Carson, Crosby, Deaf Smith, Floyd, Garza, Hale, Hockley, Hutchinson, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Potter, Randall, Swisher and Terry counties
STAR plans	Superior HealthPlan, Wellpoint; FirstCare has been listed too (check its status)
STAR+PLUS plans	Superior HealthPlan, Wellpoint
Local mental health authority	Texas Panhandle Centers, for 21 Panhandle counties including Potter and Randall
Permits and certificate of occupancy	City of Amarillo Building Safety (permits filed online through MGO Connect); Canyon and the county for addresses outside Amarillo
Local watch-outs	Long drives for clients; New Mexico and Oklahoma coverage; FirstCare's Medicaid exit; blizzards, ice and spring storms

Counties from HHSC's STAR+PLUS service area by county appendix (revised June 2026). Plans from HHSC's managed care service areas map and Wellpoint's Lubbock-area STAR+PLUS provider directory. Line-ups change with HHSC's contracts; check them before you apply.

The state license

Texas licenses substance use programs at the state level. Under Health and Safety Code chapter 464 and 26 TAC chapter 564, HHSC licenses the program as a chemical dependency treatment facility before it treats anyone, and Amarillo adds no city treatment license on top. As of October 2026 the fee under 26 TAC 564.408 is $1,200, plus $125 for each additional site at a separate address.

That per-site rule shapes a Panhandle plan. If you want to reach Hereford, Pampa or Dumas, each office where you deliver services is another site on the license with its own building approvals, staffing and inspection. Many programs start with one Amarillo site and decide on a second only once the first is full. The forms and the six-month window to show compliance are in our Texas CDTF license guide; the rule-by-rule proof list is 26 TAC 564 in plain English; and the whole sequence is in how to start an IOP or PHP in Texas.

Amarillo Building Safety and the certificate of occupancy

Inside the city, the City of Amarillo's Building Safety department handles permits and certificates of occupancy, and it issues permits and contractor licenses electronically through its MGO Connect portal. Its published process has three details worth knowing before you lease:

• Remodel or not, you need a CO for your use. A new commercial building gets its certificate when the permit is completed. If you alter an existing space, a registered contractor pulls a remodel permit and the certificate is issued when that work is done. If you change the use with no construction, the city has a certificate-of-occupancy-only permit for that case.
• Bring a real floor plan. The city asks for a site plan (property lines, buildings, parking) and a floor plan showing each room's use, its dimensions, and the doors and windows. Draw your group rooms, offices, restrooms and any drug-testing or medication room as they'll actually be used.
• Sharing a building means a suite address. If you're taking part of an existing space, the city says you'll apply for an address change to add suite numbers. Get that done early; payers, TMHP and HHSC all want your exact service address.

Canyon, in Randall County, and other towns have their own offices, and unincorporated addresses go through the county. Before you sign, ask in writing:

1. What occupancy classification does an outpatient substance use treatment program with group rooms fall under at this address?
2. Does the current certificate of occupancy cover that use and our expected headcount, or do we need a new one?
3. Which permits and inspections will our build-out need, and how long is review taking now?
4. What will the fire marshal check before we open?

Then lease with a contingency for the certificate of occupancy and the HHSC license, plus free rent during the build-out. Every site step is in order in our Texas IOP opening checklist.

Medicaid plans in the Lubbock service area

Amarillo shares its Medicaid plans with Lubbock, two hours south. After the HHSC license, the program enrolls with TMHP and then credentials with each plan; TMHP has said Medicaid SUD treatment may only be delivered in a licensed chemical dependency treatment facility (TMHP notice).

Program	Who it covers	Plans in the Lubbock service area
STAR	Most children, pregnant women and some families	Superior, Wellpoint; FirstCare has also been listed
STAR+PLUS	Adults with disabilities and adults 65 and older	Superior, Wellpoint
CHIP	Children in families above Medicaid income	Superior; FirstCare has also been listed
STAR Kids	Children and young adults with disabilities	Check HHSC's current map

• Two plans cover most adults. Superior and Wellpoint each appear in both STAR and STAR+PLUS here, so an adult program can reach most Medicaid members with two applications. Our Superior HealthPlan guide and Wellpoint Texas guide walk through each one.
• Check FirstCare before you count on it. FirstCare Health Plans is part of Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, which offered STAR in the Lubbock area and the rural West (BSWHP's 2025 FirstCare provider document). In April 2026 the health plan said it would leave Texas Medicaid managed care on August 31, 2026 (KWTX). Ask HHSC and FirstCare whether it still serves Medicaid members in Potter and Randall before you file, and treat its commercial products as a separate question. Our Baylor Scott & White Health Plan guide covers what the exit means for providers.
• Clients from outside the 15 counties may carry a different area's plans. Much of the rest of the Panhandle falls in the rural MRSA West service area; Moore County (Dumas), for example, appears in Superior's MRSA West STAR+PLUS directory. HHSC's MRSA West STAR chart (October 1, 2026) lists Superior and Wellpoint, the same two plans, though Wellpoint's rural network runs through MultiPlan's Texas True Choice. Check the member's county on HHSC's map at intake.
• Ask about in-lieu-of services. Texas Medicaid plans may pay adult PHP and IOP as an in-lieu-of service; ask each plan whether it does and how it pays before you build a budget on it. Our Texas Medicaid IOP and PHP guide explains.

The order of filings is in our Texas Medicaid credentialing guide. Commercial contracts usually carry a private IOP; which to approach first is in insurance contracts for treatment centers, and our credentialing service files and follows every application for you.

Serving a 21-county region

Texas Panhandle Centers alone covers 21 counties from Amarillo, which tells you how far your clients may travel. An IOP asks a client to come in several days a week, so distance is a clinical and business question, not only a marketing one.

• Schedule for drivers. Morning and evening tracks let clients keep a job and still make the drive. Our IOP schedule template shows how programs lay out hours by level of care.
• Ask each payer about telehealth. Some clients will want remote group sessions on bad-weather days or from far counties. Ask each plan in writing whether it pays telehealth IOP sessions, which place-of-service code and modifier it wants, and whether any in-person visits are required. Then write the rule into your policies.
• Verify out-of-state coverage. Clients from eastern New Mexico or the Oklahoma Panhandle carry their own state's Medicaid or plans issued there. A Texas Medicaid contract doesn't cover another state's Medicaid members. Run benefits before admission; our sister site's VOB checklist lists what to ask.
• Plan for Panhandle weather. Blizzards, ice and spring storms close roads. Your emergency plan should say who decides to close, how clients hear about it, and how a cancelled day is documented. Comply's emergency operations plan guide and hazard vulnerability analysis cover both. If services at a site stop for more than 60 days, HHSC retires that site's license unless you've asked for inactive status (26 TAC 564.406).

The local landscape

Earn referrals with quick assessments, honest level-of-care calls and steady updates. Paying or giving anything of value for referrals is illegal under the Texas Patient Solicitation Act and federal EKRA (see patient brokering laws, explained). We never arrange referrals.

• Texas Panhandle Centers is the local mental health authority for Potter, Randall and 19 other counties, with a 24-hour crisis line. Agree how crisis hand-offs work and where you'll send clients you can't serve. It has also hired OSAR staff in Amarillo; OSAR programs screen people and link them to state-funded substance use treatment (HHSC OSAR page). Confirm the current Region 1 OSAR provider there.
• Hospitals and the VA. Amarillo's hospital systems discharge patients who need a step-down level of care; their case managers want your levels of care, plans and assessment times. The Amarillo VA medical center serves veterans across the Panhandle, and community care for veterans runs through VA's own network (see our VA Community Care guide).
• Courts and probation. Texas counties can run specialty courts, including drug courts, under Government Code chapter 123. Reports to a court or probation officer go only with the client's written consent under 42 CFR Part 2.
• Employers, EAPs and therapists across the region refer people who need more than weekly therapy. A one-page sheet with your schedule, levels of care and accepted plans works better than lunches. Legal marketing, from directories to paid search, is in how to market a treatment center.

The order of work in Amarillo

Step	Amarillo detail	Typical time in our roadmap
1. Program model and budget	Levels of care, schedule for commuters, payer mix with or without FirstCare. Use the break-even calculator.	1–2 months
2. Site search	Jurisdiction (Amarillo, Canyon or county), the four questions above, parking for clients who drive	about 30 days
3. Lease with a contingency	Out if the certificate of occupancy or license fails; free rent for the build-out	about 3 weeks
4. Build-out and permits	Remodel permit through MGO Connect, or a CO-only permit for a change of use	about 6 weeks
5. Certificate of occupancy and fire inspection	Keep both for HHSC and your accreditor	about 3 weeks
6. HHSC license and inspection	File when the site, policies and staff files are nearly ready	about 2–3 months
7. Facility contracts	TMHP, then Superior and Wellpoint, and your commercial plans	about 90 days each

The times are planning figures from our own launch roadmap, not promises; the city, HHSC and the plans set their own pace. What it all costs is in how much it costs to start an IOP.

Or book a free 30-minute call and tell us what you're planning.

Questions

Which Medicaid service area is Amarillo in?

The Lubbock service area. HHSC lists 15 counties in it: Carson, Crosby, Deaf Smith, Floyd, Garza, Hale, Hockley, Hutchinson, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Potter, Randall, Swisher and Terry. Programs in Amarillo contract with the same Medicaid plans as programs in Lubbock.

Which Medicaid plans should an Amarillo IOP apply to first?

For an adult program, Superior and Wellpoint, the plans listed in both STAR and STAR+PLUS in the Lubbock service area. FirstCare has been the local STAR and CHIP plan, but its parent, Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, said it would leave Medicaid managed care on August 31, 2026, so confirm its status before you apply.

Do I need a city license to run an IOP in Amarillo?

No separate treatment license: HHSC licenses the program. The City of Amarillo's part is the building, with permits through Building Safety, a certificate of occupancy for your use, and the fire inspection.

Who is the local mental health authority in Amarillo?

Texas Panhandle Centers, which serves Potter, Randall and 19 other Panhandle counties and runs a 24-hour crisis line.

How long does it take to open an IOP in Amarillo?

Plan on roughly nine to twelve months from first decisions to a full caseload of insured clients. The building, the HHSC license and the facility contracts happen mostly in order, and the contracts usually take longest.

Other Texas cities: Midland–Odessa, El Paso, Dallas, and every city guide on opening a program in Texas, by city.

Cima Consulting isn't a law or accounting firm. HHSC, the City of Amarillo and each health plan make their own decisions; we don't guarantee approvals, rates or dates. We aren't affiliated with any health plan named here.

Sources

• HHSC, Managed Care Service Areas map: hhs.texas.gov; STAR+PLUS service area by county (revision 26-2, June 2026): fhb.hhs.texas.gov
• Wellpoint, STAR+PLUS provider directory, Lubbock service area: wellpoint.com; CDS service area table (STAR+PLUS plans and counties by area): txdisabilities.org
• Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, FirstCare provider document (2025): bswhealthplan.com; KWTX, April 15, 2026: kwtx.com
• City of Amarillo Building Safety, applying for a certificate of occupancy: amarillo.gov
• Texas Panhandle Centers counties: HHSC LIDDA directory, resources.hhs.texas.gov; Region 16 resource guide (crisis line): ttuhsc.edu
• HHSC, STAR comparison chart, MRSA West (October 1, 2026): hhs.texas.gov; Superior HealthPlan, STAR+PLUS MRSA West provider directory (2018, county list): superiorhealthplan.com
• HHSC OSAR: hhs.texas.gov; TMHP, substance use disorder benefit changes: tmhp.com
• Texas Health and Safety Code chapter 464: statutes.capitol.texas.gov; 26 TAC 564.406 and 564.408: 564.406, 564.408
• Texas Occupations Code chapter 102: statutes.capitol.texas.gov; EKRA, 18 U.S.C. 220: law.cornell.edu; Government Code chapter 123: statutes.capitol.texas.gov; 42 CFR Part 2: ecfr.gov