ADAPT Act

This bill aims to make it easier for people on Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP to get mental and behavioral health care. It would let certain psychology trainees, like doctoral interns and postdoctoral residents, provide services that can be paid for, as long as a licensed clinical psychologist oversees their work. The supervising psychologist wouldn’t have to be in the room, just in charge overall, which can help more patients get timely care .

Medicare would start paying for these trainee-provided services one year after the bill becomes law. The Health and Human Services Secretary must also create a billing “modifier” code within a year to clearly mark when a trainee provided the service. States would get guidance within a year on how to cover these services under Medicaid and CHIP, including suggested billing codes and examples of how other states have already done it using waivers .

• Who is affected: People with Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP; psychology trainees (doctoral interns and postdocs); and licensed clinical psychologists who supervise them .
• What changes: Trainee services can be reimbursed when done under general supervision; a new billing code modifier will flag these services; states will get tools and examples to enable coverage in Medicaid/CHIP .
• When it starts: Medicare coverage begins one year after the law takes effect; HHS must issue the billing code and state guidance within one year .