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Mark Heyrman/Mental Health Summit Last month, Congress passed a package of funding bills to allocate resources to health agencies that fund mental health and substance use programs. Today, we are writing to summarize the results of your continued advocacy for federal mental health resources and for better access to mental health care. Many mental health and substance use programs were funded at the same level as last year, or with a slight increase. For FY 2026 federal funding: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) received roughly level funding, with the community mental health block grant receiving a slight increase of $5 million. SAMHSA remained a separate agency in the bill and was not merged into a larger one. The National Institute of Mental Health also had a slight increase, and the Centers for Disease Control’s Injury Center was level-funded, with continued funding for opioid overdose and suicide prevention programs.
The package of legislation also included a major win for people seeking mental health care: the REAL Health Providers Act. Mental Health America has worked tirelessly with lawmakers, partners, and advocates to help shape, advance, and ultimately secure passage of this legislation, which addresses the persistent problem of “ghost networks” in Medicare Advantage. We are grateful that the REAL Health Providers Act will now become law and are especially thankful for the leadership of Representatives Jimmy Panetta, along with co-sponsors Greg Murphy, Brad Schneider, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Greg Landsman in the House, as well as Senators Ron Wyden, Tom Tillis, and Michael Bennet in the Senate. The REAL Health Providers Act includes three key protections that will help people access mental health care when they need it: Mandatory 90-day provider verification: Medicare Advantage plans must verify and update provider directory information every 90 days. Providers who cannot be verified must be clearly flagged or removed, helping end the frustrating experience of calling long lists of unavailable clinicians. Cost-sharing protections for enrollees: When inaccurate directory information leads a patient to see an out-of-network provider, the plan, not the patient, will bear the cost. Enrollees will only be responsible for in-network cost-sharing. Targeted oversight of behavioral health networks: Given the historically high inaccuracy rates in behavioral health provider listings, the law authorizes CMS to conduct specialized audits and publish public “accuracy scores,” increasing transparency and accountability.
As next steps, MHA stands ready to work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help implement this law and ensure it delivers on its promise to eliminate ghost networks and improve access to mental health and substance use care.
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