Wyoming mental health care access could improve under Barrasso, Bennet bill
The United States is in a mental health crisis that was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and Wyoming is no exception. A bipartisan bill in Congress aims to reduce barriers to accessing mental health care in rural communities.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, introduced thebill, co-sponsored by Sen.
Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, on July 17. Dubbed the Accelerating the Development of Advanced Psychology Trainees Act, or ADAPT, the bill would allow psychology trainees to bill for services provided to patients with federal health insurance through Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The bill is “absolutely trying to help expand” access to mental health care, said Lindsay Simineo, a licensed professional counselor and director of the Wyoming Behavioral Health Alliance. The alliance works to expand mental health care access in the Equality State.
Nearly one out of every three adults in Wyomingreportedhaving symptoms of anxiety, depression or both in February 2023. The state had thethird-highestsuicide rate in the nation in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
One of Wyoming’s biggest problems is that its youth are its “greatest export,” Simineo said. It can be challenging to recruit and retain the state’s mental health workforce. “We’ve been looking for different, unique ways to solve this problem,” Simineo said. “I think this is another solution that could benefit Wyoming.” The ADAPT act would allow advanced psychology trainees — people either getting their doctorate or in postdoctoral training — who are supervised by licensed psychologists to bill Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP patients.
That would increase access to nearly 4,000 trainees across the United States, according to apress releasefrom Barrasso’s office. “As a doctor, I know firsthand how important it is to recruit and maintain quality mental health professionals,” Barrasso said in the press release. “Our bill addresses these issues by giving Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP patients greater access to mental health services closer to home.” Barrasso previously introduced abillby the same name in 2023. The bill’s introduction comes on the heels of Congress passing an omnibus spending bill that calls for significant cuts to Medicaid.
Those effects may be felt particularly in the 40 states that expanded Medicaid, which Wyoming did not. Barrasso touted the budget reconciliation bill, arguing that Wyoming was unlikely to be negatively impacted.Recent research, though, suggests that Medicaid cuts could shrink the state’s economy by $130 million over five years.
Medicaid cuts also could impact the ADAPT Act if it were to pass because fewer people are set to be enrolled in the program across the United States. “I think it’s an absolutely fair concern to think that the Medicaid cuts that happened in the budget reconciliation bill could impact this bill and the people who have access to this bill,” Simineo said. Contact Alex Viveros at 307-732-5909 oralexv@jhnewsandguide.com.
Alex Viveros moved to Jackson from Washington, D.C., where he spent just under a year reporting on health and science. He is a graduate of Tufts University and MIT’s science writing program, and has fond memories of leading his undergraduate college newspaper.
Alex Viveros moved to Jackson from Washington, D.C., where he spent just under a year reporting on health and science. He is a graduate of Tufts University and MIT’s science writing program, and has fond memories of leading his undergraduate college newspaper.
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