GOOD NEWS and BAD NEWS and now GOOD NEWS
Good News is that on December 23, 2022, Congress passed the Mental Health Access Improvement Act (S.828/H.R.432), a bill which expanded Medicare coverage to include two new groups of mental health providers: Licensed Mental Health/Professional Counselors and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists. This legislation signed by President Biden goes into effect January 2024 and adds marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors to the list of health care practitioners who can accept payment from Medicare Part B health insurance. Part B is the component of Medicare that covers outpatient services, such as doctor visits.
Bad News is that most of these therapists and counselors have had no formal training in serving clients who are 65 years or older.
But the Good News is that efforts are being made such as on this website to expand the training for therapists and counselors in the field of gerontology to catch them up to speed on the needs of this senior population and the evidenced based treatment approaches which assist them in dealing with their mental health concerns.
