America continues to grapple with a persistent behavioral health workforce crisis, with just over a quarter of the national mental health needs met. The situation is particularly dire in psychiatry, with projections estimating a 20% decline in the number of adult psychiatrists by 2030, even as demand continues to rise. The U.S. Department of Health […]
Category: Regulation
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee has approved about $8.05 billion related to behavioral health across multiple parts of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS). On Thursday, the bipartisan committee approved funding items on a 25-3 vote. A committee report details the financial priorities for the pending federal fiscal year 2025 budget. Items spanned […]
Legislators are advancing a landmark bill through the Senate, the sole federal legislation dedicated to autism research and services. The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions passed the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support (CARES) Act of 2024 in an overwhelming 20-1 vote. The bill would bookmark $2 billion in federal […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule for the 2025 Medicare Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) on Wednesday. The new rule makes changes to Medicare payments as well as to the Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Quality Reporting Program. The payment adjustments include a 2.5% net rate increase, patient-level […]
Four substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities owned by Crossroads Treatment Centers have allegedly knowingly submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicaid from 2016 to mid-2023. The company is now set to pay $863,934 in a civil settlement with the U.S. and the Commonwealth of Virginia. “Submitting false claims to Medicaid undermines the integrity of […]
Prominent Democratic lawmakers released the Health Over Wealth Act Thursday — legislation meant to beef up the regulation of private equity investment in health care. The bill text specifically names “mental health or behavioral health” providers and opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Among several other requirements, it would require that private equity firms obtain licenses from […]
Inaccurate health plan directories, also known as ghost networks, can block patients from much-needed behavioral health care, drive up health care prices and keep providers from reaching potential clients. Regulations like the No Surprises Act that mandate more accurate health plan directories have largely failed, according to a new study published in BMC Health Services […]
The Biden administration has launched a new initiative focused on building a multi-state social worker licensure compact. The grant program could help boost behavioral health access by reducing the application burden for social workers. This could be key as the behavioral health industry faces a notoriously tight labor market. State licensure compacts allow providers to […]
A federal court has partially halted the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) near-total ban on noncompete agreements. On July 3, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas enjoined the final rule’s implementation, but only for the plaintiffs named in the case. The rule is set to take effect on Sept. 4, 2024, pending […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) included multiple behavioral health updates in two proposed payment rules released on Wednesday. Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) and partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) will likely see rate changes as part of the CMS proposed payment rates for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center services. IOPs and PHPs […]
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