Telemental Health Care Access Act of 2025
The Telemental Health Care Access Act of 2025 would require Medicare (Title XVIII) to cover mental and behavioral health services delivered through telehealth. Specifically, it would amend the Medicare telehealth provision at section 1834(m)(7) to expand coverage beyond “mental health services” to explicitly include “mental and behavioral health services” furnished via telehealth, and it would remove a current subparagraph (B) that imposes certain limitations. The change is designed to strengthen access to telehealth-based mental and behavioral health care for Medicare beneficiaries, potentially expanding where and how these services can be provided. The effective date mirrors the approach taken in the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, meaning the bill’s changes would take effect as if they were part of that prior law’s telehealth expansions.
Key Points
- 1Expands Medicare coverage to include mental and behavioral health services delivered through telehealth, not just traditional “mental health services.”
- 2Explicitly authorizes telehealth for both the treatment of mental health disorders and the provision of behavioral health services.
- 3Removes subparagraph (B) from the relevant telehealth provision, which implies eliminating at least one prior limitation or gating requirement on telehealth coverage.
- 4Establishes an effective date aligned with Section 123 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260), effectively tying the telehealth expansion to that prior-era expansion.
- 5Aims to improve access to mental/behavioral health care for Medicare beneficiaries, with potential downstream effects on care delivery, access in rural/underserved areas, and overall Medicare costs.