Summary of the

CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2023

Provisions Related to Behavioral Health Integration in Primary Care

Sec. 1301 – funds a grant and cooperation agreement program to fund primary care practices up to $2 million/year for 5 years to help practices deliver evidence-based integrated physical and behavioral health services including behavioral health prevention, screening, assessments, and treatments. Grantees must report on performance measures necessary to evaluate patient outcomes. The funding also covers the providing of information, training and technical assistance to the grantee primary care practices. The funding program aims to help practices implement evidence-based models of integrated care including the collaborative care, primary care behavioral/behavioral health consultant, and SBIRT models. The federal Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) will be required to collect and report data within 18 months on the outcomes and results to Congress (House Energy & Commerce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee) so that such information may inform future Congressional legislative action on the subject of integrated care to expand access to mental health/substance use services in future.

Sec. 4128 – under the legislation’s Medicare mental health provisions, this section requires HHS to outreach to physicians and non-physician practitioners participating in Medicare programs regarding Medicare behavioral health integration services (HCPCS 99492-99494, and 99484). The outreach must include a comprehensive, one-time education initiative to make practices aware of behavioral health integration services as a covered Medicare benefit under the Medicare programs (traditional traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Shared Savings Program, Medicare Accountable Care Organizations programs). HHS must within a year submit data on the outreach program to Congress (House Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance) on the outreach results, and shall within 2 years supply information on the number of Medicare beneficiaries receiving such integrated care services.

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