Sponsors (2)
Increases Medicare payments to psychologists to improve access and provider participation, but raises Medicare spending and may require offsets or reductions elsewhere in the program.
Medicare beneficiaries needing psychological services, and psychologists/outpatient providers, will receive higher Medicare payment rates starting Jan 1, 2027, which should increase provider participation, improve access to behavioral health care, and reduce financial pressure on providers.
Higher Medicare payments will increase program spending, creating additional pressure on Medicare trust funds and potentially requiring budgetary offsets or greater contributions from taxpayers.
If the increase is not budget-neutral, it could necessitate reducing funding for other Medicare services or future policy trade‑offs, potentially harming beneficiaries who rely on those services.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Raises Medicare payment for certain psychologist services from 75% to 85% of the physician fee schedule and ties payment to that schedule.
Increases the Medicare payment rate for certain psychologist services by changing the payment basis from 75% to 85% of the Medicare physician fee schedule amount, and ties the psychologist payment reference explicitly to the physician fee schedule. The change applies to the specified Medicare payment rules for psychologist services and takes effect for services furnished on or after January 1, 2027. The measure is narrowly focused: it updates statutory payment language to raise provider reimbursement for affected psychologist services, which is likely to increase Medicare spending modestly, affect beneficiary cost-sharing tied to Medicare-approved amounts, and require CMS to implement the revised payment calculation.
Introduced March 25, 2026 by Brian K. Fitzpatrick · Last progress March 25, 2026