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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 683 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 683
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand eligibility
for incentives under the Medicare health professional shortage area
bonus program to practitioners furnishing mental health and substance
use disorder services.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 24, 2025
Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Daines) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand eligibility
for incentives under the Medicare health professional shortage area
bonus program to practitioners furnishing mental health and substance
use disorder services.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``More Behavioral Health Providers Act
of 2025''.
SEC. 2. EXPANDING ELIGIBILITY FOR INCENTIVES UNDER THE MEDICARE HEALTH
PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE AREA BONUS PROGRAM TO PRACTITIONERS
FURNISHING MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER
SERVICES.
Section 1833(m) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(m)) is
amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following
new paragraph:
``(1) In the case of--
``(A) physicians' services (other than specified health
services that are eligible for the additional payment under
subparagraph (B)) furnished in a year to an individual, who is
covered under the insurance program established by this part
and who incurs expenses for such services, in an area that is
designated (under section 332(a)(1)(A) of the Public Health
Service Act) as a health professional shortage area as
identified by the Secretary prior to the beginning of such
year, in addition to the amount otherwise paid under this part,
there also shall be paid to the physician (or to an employer or
facility in the cases described in clause (A) of section
1842(b)(6)) (on a monthly or quarterly basis) from the Federal
Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund an amount equal to
10 percent of the payment amount for the service under this
part; and
``(B) specified health services (as defined in paragraph
(5)) furnished in a year to an individual, who is covered under
the insurance program established by this part and who incurs
expenses for such services, in an area that is designated
(under such section 332(a)(1)(A)) as a mental health
professional shortage area as identified by the Secretary prior
to the beginning of such year, in addition to the amount
otherwise paid under this part, there also shall be paid to the
physician or applicable practitioner (as defined in paragraph
(6)) (or to an employer or facility in the cases described in
clause (A) of section 1842(b)(6)) (on a monthly or quarterly
basis) from such Trust Fund an amount equal to 15 percent of
the payment amount for the service under this part.'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``in paragraph (1)'' and inserting
``in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1)''; and
(B) by inserting ``or, in the case of specified
health services, the physician or applicable
practitioner'' after ``physician'';
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking ``paragraph (1)'' each
place it appears and inserting ``subparagraph (A) or (B) of
paragraph (1)'';
(4) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``or
applicable practitioner'' after ``physician''; and
(B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``or
applicable practitioner'' after ``physician''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(5) In this subsection, the term `specified health services'
means services otherwise covered under this part that are furnished on
or after January 1, 2024, by a physician or an applicable practitioner
to an individual--
``(A) for purposes of diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment
of a mental health disorder, as determined by the Secretary; or
``(B) with a substance use disorder diagnosis for purposes
of treatment of such disorder or co-occurring mental health
disorder, as determined by the Secretary.
``(6) In this subsection, the term `applicable practitioner' means
the following:
``(A) A physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or
clinical nurse specialist (as defined in section 1861(aa)(5)).
``(B) A clinical social worker (as defined in section
1861(hh)(1)).
``(C) A clinical psychologist (as defined by the Secretary
for purposes of section 1861(ii)).
``(D) A marriage and family therapist (as defined in
section 1861(lll)(2)).
``(E) A mental health counselor (as defined in section
1861(lll)(4)).''.
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