California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed four bills aimed at improving access to behavioral healthcare in the state, specifically for those facing mental health issues and substance use disorders. 

The House of Representatives passed a bill authorizing $1.95 billion in funding for autism spectrum disorder research. 

Texas psychiatric hospitals are pushing the state for higher Medicaid reimbursement rates, The Texas Tribune reported Sept. 19. 

Lawmakers are introducing legislation to boost funding for outpatient and virtual stabilization treatment. 

CMS has approved New Hampshire's Medicaid state plan amendment, allowing community-based mobile crisis intervention teams to care for Medicaid beneficiaries facing mental health or substance use disorder crises.

Tougher requirements for insurers to cover mental health services at parity with medical care received praise from advocacy groups but could face legal challenges from employers. 

The Biden Administration has finalized rules requiring insurers to cover mental healthcare at the same level as other health services. 

Sen. Ron Wyden says he is "hard at work" drafting legislation to regulate residential behavioral treatment facilities. 

Here are three mental treatment updates that affect the field of behavioral health, as reported by Becker's since April 11:

Both major party nominees for president offer scant details on how they would handle mental health. 

U.S. lawmakers are pushing the FDA to approve MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy or molly, to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. 

CMS will bump inpatient psychiatric payments slightly in 2025. 

The Joint Commission is updating its accreditation manual for behavioral health and human services providers to include an updated definition of "restraint," among other changes. 

HHS will put $2.5 million toward developing a multistate social worker license compact. 

Illinois will ban prior authorization for inpatient mental health treatment. 

Opioid treatment providers would be able to offer more services through telehealth under CMS' proposed Medicare payment rules for 2025. 

CMS is proposing adding Medicare reimbursement for creating safety plans and follow-up services for patients in crisis. 

The Biden administration is planning to finalize mental health parity regulations for insurers in July, Politico reported July 8. 

The majority of entries for mental health providers in Tricare directories are inaccurate, a report from the Government Accountability Office found. 

The Maryland Department of Health will pause enrolling some types of behavioral health providers into the state's Medicaid program for six months to address potential fraud, waste and abuse.