Medicare Mental Health Proposals Expand Aid for Substance Abuse

America’s opioid crisis and the Covid pandemic have renewed calls from lawmakers and advocates to modernize and expand Medicare’s behavioral health coverage. And the Biden administration is listening.

The Medicare physician fee schedule proposed rule for 2023 suggests changes are coming to Medicare’s coverage of treatment for mental health and substance use disorders when the final rule is released. It’s expected next week.

Roughly 1.7 million Medicare beneficiaries had a substance-use disorder in the past year, a recent study estimated. And even though they were much more likely to have had serious psychological distress and suicidal thoughts, only 11% ...