Government & Regulation

The California Behavioral Health Services Act — formerly the Mental Health Services Act — is undergoing reforms that aim to expand services and redirect funding to address housing instability and homelessness among residents with behavioral health conditions, according to the…

The recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes a provision to invest $50 billion in creating the Rural Healthcare Transformation Program aimed at offsetting the loss of healthcare coverage nationwide. But leaders are questioning whether this effort will be…

American Psychiatric Centers, doing business as Comprehensive Psychiatric Services, agreed to pay $2.75 million to resolve allegations it submitted false claims for psychotherapy services to government programs. Federal and state officials alleged that from 2015 to 2022, the Walnut Creek,…

President Donald Trump has declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C., mobilized federal forces and is working to remove homeless encampments — moves that build on a recent executive order linking homelessness to mental illness, substance use and public safety. …

Premera Blue Cross was fined $550,000 on Aug. 6 by Washington State Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer over alleged violations of the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the state’s provider directory regulation. The insurer is also required…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order to address rising suicide rates and social disconnection among the population, according to a July 30 news release. Here are three notes: Read the full order here.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order promoting involuntary civil commitment as a solution to crime linked to homelessness across the country, framing it as a public safety crisis, according to a July 24 White House news release.  Here are…

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers have reintroduced legislation to remove lifetime limits on inpatient psychiatric care for Medicare beneficiaries.  U.S. Reps. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., and Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., reintroduced the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act July 22, according to…

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has finalized new regulations requiring insurers to cover medically necessary mental health and substance use treatments.  The new regulations follow two laws enacted by California in 2020 and 2022, respectively, that aim to improve access…

The Trump administration has delayed — and could cancel — $140 million in grants Congress approved to support a CDC overdose prevention program, NPR reported July 16.  CDC staffers told NPR on condition of anonymity the administration has paused funding…