Scalable Solutions Model

Medicare Increases Emphasis on Behavioral Health

Medicare policy is evolving to encourage providers to take a more active role in addressing the behavioral health needs of their patients. In traditional Medicare, new payment codes encourage practitioners to spend more time identifying and helping patients with their behavioral health challenges. Meanwhile, CMS and its Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation have introduced several new care and payment models that place a greater emphasis on beneficiaries’ behavioral health needs. Among them: The LEAD (Long-Term Enhanced ACO Design) Model, which seeks to include more behavioral health providers and encourages greater integration of behavioral health care. The ACCESS (Advancing Chronic [...]

joe2026-03-31T17:02:07-04:00April 1, 2026|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Medicare|

Federal Health Policy Update for December 18

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 12-18. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress In a 216-211 vote yesterday, the House passed the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, a Republican package aimed at addressing multiple health care policies. The legislation includes provisions for employee tax-advantaged benefits like HSAs and FSAs, cost-sharing reductions (CSR) subsidies, and increased transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). It notably did not include an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that many of the [...]

joe2025-12-18T16:29:43-05:00December 18, 2025|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|