Legislation to Include Counselors in Medicare Introduced in Senate

Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) have introduced S. 828, the Mental Health Access Improvement Act, in the Senate. The legislation is a companion bill to H.R. 432, which was introduced in the House by Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA-5) and John Katko (R-NY-24) in January. Sens. Barrasso and Stabenow introduced this legislation in the last Congress as well and are committed to working together across party lines to see it passed.

Last Congress, the Senate version of the Mental Health Access Improvement Act garnered 31 cosponsors, the most in the 22-year history of the bill. Along with our partners in the Medicare Mental Health Workforce Coalition, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Counseling Association, the American Mental Health Counselors Association, the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Centerstone, the National Association for Rural Mental Health, the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors, and the National Council for Behavioral Health, NBCC is working to build on that momentum and gain even more cosponsors this Congress. Visit our Grassroots Action Center to contact your senators today and ask them to cosponsor S. 828, the Mental Health Access Improvement Act!