Building Capacity for Care Act

This bill would help communities build and upgrade mental health and addiction treatment centers for adults and kids. The Health and Human Services Department could give loans, government‑backed loans, and grants to buy land or buildings, plan, build, or renovate facilities, add or convert inpatient beds, and improve digital tools and telehealth. It could also refinance older loans within a limited window tied to the date the bill becomes law.

Hospitals and treatment providers could apply, including general, psychiatric, children’s, rural emergency, and critical access hospitals; substance use and mental health facilities; and clinics that employ licensed mental health or addiction professionals. Projects should expand bed space in areas with too few beds, serve high‑need rural or under‑resourced communities, offer care across the full range of services, or handle complex cases. The government would favor grants for places with mental health workforce shortages or overdose or suicide rates above the national average. Loans would follow strict rules: repayment terms up to 20 years, limits on how much risk the government will cover, borrowers must put in at least 25% of project costs, and interest rates and fees are set to protect taxpayers. If a guaranteed loan defaults, the government would cover 75% of the loss and then try to recover the money. The bill authorizes up to $200 million per year for loans and guarantees, plus $200 million per year for grants, from 2025 through 2029. It also creates a trust fund so any net program earnings can support community mental health block grants.

Key points

• Who is affected: Hospitals, clinics, and treatment centers; communities with provider shortages or high overdose/suicide rates; patients needing mental health or addiction care.
• What changes: New funding to build, expand, and modernize facilities, add inpatient beds, and improve telehealth; limited refinancing of older loans; strong safeguards for interest rates, fees, and risk.
• When: Funding is authorized for 2025–2029; the refinancing authority applies only to loans made up to 24 months before enactment and ends 24 months after enactment.