New legislation in Nebraska would implement a new payment framework for behavioral health and substance misuse providers, which could expand mental health services in the state, StarHerald reported March 29. 

Behavioral health is undergoing a broad awakening, with both leaders and the public increasingly seeing it as vital. The industry may fail to capture the full momentum of those tailwinds, however, if service bottlenecks and other key obstacles are not addressed.

Montana lawmakers have developed a plan of how to spend the $300 million Gov. Greg Gianforte pledged toward behavioral health, NBC affiliate KTVH reported March 29. 

A new piece of legislation would allow physician assistants in Massachusetts to place individuals in an involuntary psychiatric hold if thought to be experiencing a mental health crisis or a harm to themselves or others.

New York healthcare providers, including Buffalo, N.Y.-based Evergreen Health, are suing the state over changes to its 340B program set to take effect April 1, ABC affiliate WKBW reported March 27.

Lawmakers in New Jersey are looking to spend $3 million to expand mental health services for law enforcement, the New Jersey Monitor reported March 28. 

Dawn Cottingham-Frohna has been named commissioner of West Virginia's Department of Health and Human Resources' Bureau for Behavioral Health, effective immediately. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed into law a bill that allows nurse practitioners to practice without holding contracts with physicians, according to a March 16 American Association of Nurse Practitioners news release.

HHS has established two grants totaling $123.6 million for community behavioral health clinic expansion through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The Washington State Senate has proposed allocating $860 million of the state's budget toward behavioral health initiatives, Peninsula Daily News reported March 23. 

The Louisiana Department of Health may have improperly spent $13 million in behavioral health provider fees, according to a state auditor's report. 

Here are 14 bills aiming to expand access to mental and behavioral healthcare at the national and state levels that Becker's has reported on since March 1.

Senators Michael Bennett from Colorado and Ron Wyden from Oregon introduced the Better Mental Health Care for Americans Act March 22 to expand access to mental and behavioral health services for Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid patients.

Rhode Island's Attorney General Peter Neronha, along with 15 other attorneys general, are renewing an effort to change limits to behavioral health insurance coverage, Providence Business News reported March 20. 

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is rallying support for her $80 million behavioral health plan to expand access to care in the state, OregonLive reported March 21. 

California lawmakers have submitted a bill that would require a minimum amount of staff in hospitals for behavioral health emergencies, SFGate reported March 21. 

Gov. Spencer Cox has signed four bills related to mental health into law, State of Reform reported March 17.

House Bill 2455 would place restrictions on how insurers and coordinated care organizations can audit mental health providers in Oregon, the Lund Report reported March 16. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is awarding 15 states each with $1 million, one-year certified community behavioral health clinic planning grants through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The West Virginia state legislature has completed action on a bill that would limit the number of treatment beds for substance use disorder patients in each county, according to a March 12 report from NBC affiliate WTAP.