New legislation in New Jersey would lower the age for youth to access mental healthcare without parental consent to 13, New Jersey Monitor reported April 28. 

An Illinois bill that aims to transform children's behavioral health in the state has been approved by the House Mental Health and Addiction Committee, according to an April 27 report from NBC affiliate WAND.

Alabama lawmakers have introduced a bill that would apply a phone surcharge to all residents to fund its 988 crisis care system hotline. 

Nearly one-third of the U.S. population lives in an area that reserves taxes for mental health services, according to a study published April 18 in The Milbank Quarterly.

Morgan Medlock, MD, Colorado's inaugural chief of the state's behavioral health administration, has left the position after serving just 15 months, according to an April 17 report from the Colorado Sun.

CMS released its 2024 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters Final Rule, which includes measures aimed at boosting behavioral healthcare access, increasing coverage accessibility and simplifying the health plan selection process, according to an April 17 news release shared with Becker's.

New legislation in Oregon would apply a 50-cent tax on all phone lines in order to fund the state's behavioral health and suicide crisis hotline, The Corvallis Advocate reported April 6. 

Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky has signed a bill into law that will increase funds for mental health services for law enforcement, CBS affiliate WKYT reported April 6. 

CMS issued a proposed rule on April 4 that would update Medicare payment policies and rates for the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Prospective Payment System.  Six things to know:

Medicaid reimbursement rates are set by individual states, and they vary wildly between states. Nebraska's Medicaid rates are the best in the nation, at 167 percent the equivalent Medicare rate and more than double the national average.

Medicaid reimbursement rates are set by individual states, and they vary wildly between states. Pennsylvania's Medicaid rates are the worst in the nation, at less than one-third of the equivalent Medicare rate and less than half of the national average.

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.

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. 

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.