MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA

FY2025 appropriations: Funding for the Community Mental Health Block Grant Funding for grant program within CMS (CCIIO) that authorizes $10 million annually for state insurance departments to implement the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) $40 million in funding for enforcement of MHPAEA to the Department of Labor

H.R. 4531 and S. 3393 - House and Senate bills that would reauthorize the SUPPORT Act, which was originally enacted during the 115th Congress in 2018. The SUPPORT Act authorized numerous programs designed to address the opioid epidemic. Mental Health America MHA) has lobbied broadly in favor of reauthorizing the entirety of the SUPPORT Act. Specifically, MHA has lobbied on many of the sections Title I (public health) and Title III (Medicaid) of H.R. 4531 and Title I (prevention) Title II (treatment), and Title III (recovery) of S. 3393.

H.R. 7808 Early Action and Responsiveness Lifts Youth Minds Act - This act would amend the Community Mental Health Block Grant to allow states to use 5% of funds for prevention and early intervention activities. S. 1409 & H.R. 7891 - Kids Online Safety Act - MHA has lobbied broadly in support of this act, and specifically on the duty of care provisions that are contained within section 3 of S. 1409 and section 102 of H.R. 7891

S. 3059 & H.R. 7708 - REAL Health Providers Act - MHA has lobbied in support of this bill, which would require Medicare Advantage plans to regularly verify their provider directories and would require CMS to establish an accuracy score for each MA plan's provider directory. S. 1378 & H.R. 5819 - Connecting Our Medical Providers with Links to Expand Tailored and Effective Care - MHA has lobbied in support of this bill, which would increase the reimbursement rates in Medicare for the behavioral health integration billing codes. S. 3498 & H.R. 6748 - Promoting Effective and Empowering Recovery Services in Medicare Act of 2023 - MHA has lobbied in support of this bill, which would establish reimbursement for peer support services at community mental health centers, rural health centers, federally qualified health centers, and certified community behavioral health clinics. S. 4338 - Pay PCPs Act - MHA has lobbied for modifications to this bill, which would establish a hybrid per-member-per-month payment structure in Medicare for primary care providers contingent upon them incorporating several treatment areas into their core practice function, including behavioral health integration. MHA has specifically lobbied for the hybrid payment structure to feature multiple tiers of payment, with the higher payment tiers corresponding with greater levels of behavioral health integration.