U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) have introduced the Increasing Mental Health Options Act (S. 669opens in new window) to make it easier for Medicare patients to receive treatment from a psychologist. The new bill is virtually identical to legislation with the same name introduced by Sens. Brown and Collins in Decemberopens in new window, at the end of the last Congress. APA Services worked closely with the Senators’ offices in developing the legislation, and its introduction in the 118th Congress marks the first major step this year toward achieving the long-sought goal of establishing universal independent practice authority for psychologists and extending to psychologists the same Medicare bonus payments provided to physicians for services delivered in mental health professional shortage areas.
Under current law, before Medicare patients in comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, partial hospitalization programs, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and those receiving care from home health agencies can receive services from a psychologist, they must first have their physician include these services in their treatment plan. Thus, while psychologists’ services in these settings are covered, psychological care is often delayed unnecessarily—and to the detriment of patients—while waiting for physician approval. In addition to removing this barrier to prompt treatment, the Increasing Mental Health Options Act would incentivize behavioral health care for Medicare patients in rural and underserved areas. Research shows that Medicare patients in rural areas are roughly half as likely to see behavioral health specialists as beneficiaries in urban areasopens in new window.
APA CEO Arthur C. Evans, Jr., PhD, was quoted in Senator Brown’s press release on the legislationopens in new window, saying, “As a nation, we are experiencing severe levels of stress and poor mental health, and Medicare beneficiaries are no exception. Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas have higher rates of mood and anxiety disorders than beneficiaries living in urban areas, but are only half as likely to see a mental health specialist…The Increasing Mental Health Options Act would address these issues, making it easier for Medicare patients to get the behavioral health care they need, when they need it.”
We encourage psychologists to ask their senators to cosponsor S. 669opens in new window and to learn more about APA’s resources on rural populations.
For more information, contact Scott Barstow.