Katko introduces bill to expand access to mental health treatment for Medicare beneficiaries

U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) introduced legislation last week to include licensed mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists as eligible service providers under Medicare, a change that would add more than 165,000 mental health providers to the network.

Currently, services provided by psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers and psychiatric nurses are covered by Medicare. But mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists, which cover approximately 40 percent of all mental health services, are not.

The Mental Health Improvement Act, which Katko introduced with bipartisan support from U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), would ensure that Medicare beneficiaries, especially those in rural and other underserved areas, have more access to mental health treatment.

“This measure will not only increase access to care for older Americans in communities nationwide, but it will help alleviate the strain on our nation’s mental health and addiction workforce,” Katko said. “I’ll continue to fight at home in Central New York and in Washington to ensure individuals and families receive the care they need.”

Speaking in support of the bill, Karen Winters Schwartz, the president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Syracuse, said that lack of access to quality medical care is a social injustice that contributes to hospitalizations, diminished productivity, broken relationships, homelessness and suicide.

“In the end, the cost to society is morally and fiscally catastrophic,” Winters Schwartz said. “Congressman Katko understands this, and I commend him for his efforts. She added that the bill is a positive step toward providing justice to people who suffer from neurological, brain-based illnesses.

Art Terrazas, the director of government affairs at the American Counseling Association, said lack of mental health care across the country is a critical issue facing Medicare beneficiaries, and he added that Katko’s legislation would bridge the coverage gap for people older than 65.