January 28, 2023
As a healthcare provider, Axis monitors both federal and state legislation to enhance our ability to provide quality care and to stay compliant with regulatory, statutory, and licensing changes. At the end of 2022, President Biden signed the Federal Omnibus spending bill, which will impact our future work as both a Community Mental Health Center and a Community Health Center.
- Beginning in 2024, Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC’s) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT’s) will be recognized providers under Medicare and will be able to bill Medicare directly for services mental health services provided.
- The Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act will remove the barriers that have limited buprenorphine (naloxone) prescribing for opioid addiction treatment.
- Federally directed spending thanks to the work of Senators Bennett and Hickenlooper of $361K to support the new Community Intervention Program (CIP) in Montezuma County.
On Monday, January 9th, the Colorado Legislature’s 74th General Assembly was called to order. Major legislation related to healthcare is not expected this 2023 session. However, it is anticipated that legislators will consider a bill to make some changes to the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) that was approved last year. This year’s early activity of interest includes proposed legislation that would:
- Allow licensed Psychologists to prescribe medications for mental health conditions to help address the behavioral health workforce shortage.
- Create a program to offer mental health assessments in schools for students in grades 6-12 to address the mental health crisis among youth.
- Encourage the wider use of the state’s Red Flag laws, strengthening background checks related to firearms and addressing “ghost” guns.
- Mandate that colleges and universities put mental health crisis and support line information on their student IDs.
Axis will continue to prepare for the 2022 federal changes as they are enacted. We will also follow the work of the Colorado legislature in 2023, advocating for those bills that will improve the health outcomes in our communities.
More information on healthcare bills this legislative session related to community-based healthcare can be found at https://cbhc.org/ or https://cchn.org/.