H.R. 9867: Expand the Behavioral Health Workforce Now Act

This bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give states guidance within 12 months on ways to use Medicaid and CHIP to improve the mental health and substance use disorder workforce.

What the guidance would cover

The guidance would focus on strategies to help states:

• increase education and training for mental health and substance use disorder care providers,
• improve recruitment of these providers, and
• improve retention of these providers.

Where the focus would be

The bill says the guidance should pay special attention to improving provider capacity in rural and underserved areas, where access to behavioral health services is often more limited.

How states could use existing tools

The guidance would also explain how states might use existing Medicaid and CHIP authorities, including:

• Section 1115 waivers under the Social Security Act, and
• other authorities under Medicaid and CHIP laws.

The bill does not itself create a new program, require states to adopt specific policies, or directly spend money. Instead, it directs HHS to provide states with a roadmap of possible ways to strengthen the behavioral health workforce through Medicaid and CHIP.

Relevant Companies

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