Senate Finance Committee releases draft mental health parity bill 

The Senate Finance Committee last week released draft legislation to improve mental health parity and access to behavioral health services in Medicare and Medicaid. According to committee leaders, the discussion draft includes provisions to improve provider directory accuracy in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care; require the Government Accountability Office to study behavioral health parity in Medicare and Medicaid; and require Medicare to provide guidance to providers on beneficiary access to partial hospitalization services for substance use disorders.

According to the committee, this is the last of five legislative drafts released by the committee’s Bipartisan Behavioral Health Initiative since May; the others focus on telehealth, youth mental health, workforce, and physical and mental health integration.