Washington, D.C. – Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet welcomed support from 46 mental and behavioral health organizations for his legislation to increase access to mental and behavioral health care for kids, seniors, and low-income Americans. In a letter to Bennet and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (Ore.), the organizations expressed their strong support for the Better Mental Health Care for Americans Act, which would expand access to mental and behavioral health care for Americans on Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid. The full text of the letter and list of signatories is available HERE. 

“The Better Mental Health Care for Americans Act contains numerous powerful provisions that would improve access to services for millions of Americans. Our organizations enthusiastically support your efforts to expand the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act’s protections to Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and all of Medicaid,” wrote the group. “Our organizations are also grateful for provisions in your legislation that address the longstanding problems of inadequate reimbursement rates for mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) services in Medicare and Medicaid, including for integrated services. Ending discriminatory reimbursement of MH/SUD services is an essential step towards fixing our MH/SUD system.”

“Mental and behavioral health is health, and it’s time we treated it as such,” said Bennet. “This bill will help people get access to the care they need, wherever they need it, by ensuring parity and integrating care.”

Specifically, the Better Mental Health Care for Americans Act:

• Requires parity for mental and behavioral health services in Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid;
• Ensures that Medicare Advantage plans maintain accurate and updated provider directories so beneficiaries understand who is in-network;
• Encourages mental and behavioral health integration with physical care by increasing reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid;
• Increases accountability and oversight of integrated mental and behavioral health care under Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance plans; and 
• Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop and implement plans to better align payments, measure access and quality, and improve prevention services for mental and behavioral health care. 

The Better Mental Health Care for Americans Act also establishes a demonstration project to increase access to integrated mental and behavioral health care for children across different settings, like schools, which are uniquely positioned to meet the mental and behavioral health needs of children. Last year, Bennet called on CMS to swiftly update Medicaid guidance on providing health care, including mental and behavioral health services, in school-based settings. Last week, in response, CMS published guidance to ease the administrative burden placed on school-based health providers ahead of the 2023-2024 school year. 

Last Congress, Bennet and Wyden released a discussion draft on improving mental and physical health parity for Americans on Medicare and Medicaid. In November, Bennet introduced the Mental and Physical Health Care Comorbidities Act to support the holistic health of patients with both mental and physical health conditions. In 2021, Bennet released ‘A Bold Vision for America’s Mental Well-being’, a whitepaper with U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) to build bipartisan consensus on redesigning our nation’s mental health care system and reevaluating federal funding for this effort.