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 […]
Lawmakers introduced a bill to help schools apply for grants from the huge pot of money Congress had previously set aside for school mental health resources. Introduced on March 21, the Creating Access and Resources in Education (CARE) for Student Mental Health Act aims to boost the number of qualified entities that could apply for […]
Federal lawmakers are taking another stab at increasing funding for behavioral health expenditures in the Medicaid program. A version of the Medicaid Bump Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate and Congress on March 12. The bill would create financial incentives for states to elevate spending on behavioral health beyond levels in 2019. Specifically, it […]
Five U.S. senators announced a bill to strengthen grant programming that supports addiction treatment in state prisons. The Supporting Treatment and Recovery Over Narcotics for Growth, Empowerment, and Rehabilitation (STRONGER) Act reauthorizes and improves the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners (RSAT) program. It adds more funding for training the state officials who oversee […]
Lawmakers have reintroduced a bipartisan bill to make behavioral health delivered by telehealth more available to those on Medicare into Congress. Four sponsors have reintroduced the Telemental Health Care Access Act. The legislation would eliminate the in-person exam mandate to receive mental health services via telehealth. It undoes 2020 legislation that expanded telehealth access for […]
A group of federal lawmakers seeks to remove regulatory barriers that inhibit psychedelics in research and compassionate use cases. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an updated version of the Breakthrough Therapies Act to the Senate. If passed, the bill would make it easier to use Schedule 1 drugs with a breakthrough […]
Federal lawmakers introduced a new bill that would loosen regulations on methadone prescribing. Legislators released the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. A bipartisan group announced the bill, saying it would be vital in expanding care for opioid use disorder (OUD). “This legislation lowers barriers to care […]
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators asked the Biden administration to tweak its proposed rule focused on addiction treatment privacy to better align with a law meant to prevent opioids from being prescribed to those in recovery. On Tuesday, the senators sent an open letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) […]
The $1.66 trillion omnibus funding bill touches nearly every aspect of the behavioral health industry. Advocates in the space weren’t shy about praising the bill even though it didn’t include some long-sought reforms. A quick tally of funding for the most germane items finds that the federal government is putting at least $10 billion into […]
Behavioral health reform efforts have a chance of passing during Congress’ lame-duck session. The final days of the legislative session include several must-move bills, according to experts with the law firm Polsinelli. Combined with a bipartisan interest in behavioral health reform, the environment on the Hill could be favorable to seeing key provisions clearing Congress. […]
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