Congresswoman Julia Brownley and Congressman Gus Bilirakis introduced the Ensuring Medicaid Continuity for Children in Foster Care Act of 2026, bipartisan legislation designed to ensure vulnerable children do not lose access to essential mental health care due to a bureaucratic technicality. Children in the foster care system have often endured severe trauma, abuse, or neglect and rely on specialized, around-the-clock care to begin healing.
Background and the Problem
Congress recognized this need when it passed the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 (FFPSA), which created Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs)—high-quality, trauma-informed settings designed to provide comprehensive mental and behavioral health services to children with complex needs. However, due to a technical interpretation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, many of these programs are being treated as Institutions for Mental Disease (IMDs) simply because they serve more than 16 individuals. As a result, children placed in these appropriate, clinically recommended settings can lose access to Medicaid coverage for the very services they depend on.
Legislative Solution
The Bilirakis-Brownley bill fixes this problem by ensuring that QRTPs are not unfairly classified as IMDs, as long as they meet the rigorous standards and accreditation requirements established under FFPSA. According to Congresswoman Brownley, “This legislation fixes that gap, strengthens continuity of care, and ensures foster youth can access the services they need without disruption.” Congressman Bilirakis noted that “no child should lose access to critical mental health care because of a bureaucratic definition” and emphasized that the last thing the system should do is put up barriers to care for children who have already experienced unimaginable trauma.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://juliabrownley.house.gov/brownley-and-bilirakis-file-bill-to-protect-foster-care-kids-access-to-critical-mental-health-treatment/