Act now to increase access to mental health and substance use services in the Medicare Program

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is asking for comments on the 2024 Physician Fee Schedule rule, which will help determine what behavioral health services are covered and how much providers are paid in the Medicare program. The proposed rule issued this summer has many proposals involving behavioral healthcare.  We want the agency to finalize some of these and to modify others to ensure people on Medicare have better access to mental health and substance use care.

The number of comments matters, so we need your help.  

We have provided a template.  If you can, we urge you to add a few sentences as to who you are and why you care about expanding access to more providers (including peer support specialists), continuing access to telehealth, and increasing payment for behavioral health services. Please note that when you submit a regulatory comment, it is sent to the agency or agencies in charge of the proposed rule for review. The agency will review your submission and post them to regulations.gov, where it will be viewable by the public. Please keep in mind that your entire comment submission is accessible public record, including any personal information added. If you are not able to add a story, feel free to submit the comment as is. 

The alert specifies which proposals we want the agency to finalize, including paying for new providers and services, continuing telehealth flexibilities, and increasing payment for some behavioral health services.  

We also ask them to make some changes to define peer support specialists in the regulation, create services that focus on the activities that peer support specialists do, and expand crisis services to pay for clinicians and peer support specialists in mobile crisis teams.

Thank you for taking the time to help us increase access to behavioral health services in the Medicare program.