to Expand Access to Telemental Health Care

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) joined a group of his colleagues in leading bipartisan legislation to help increase Americans’ access to telemental health care services. Currently, Medicare patients can be treated virtually for mental health concerns, but are first required to be seen in-person by a health care professional within six months before they receive telemental health services. The Telemental Health Care Access Act Peters cosponsored would remove this barrier for Medicare beneficiaries by eliminating the requirement that patients must be regularly seen in-person. Peters joined U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Thune (R-SD), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Mike Braun (R-IN) in leading the legislation.  

“I’m proud to support this commonsense, bipartisan bill to remove a barrier that is preventing Americans from receiving the mental health care they need,” said Senator Peters. “Eliminating this outdated requirement is especially needed to support older Americans and folks living in rural communities, who often have more difficulty accessing in-person services on a regular basis.”                                                      

A study conducted by the University of Michigan found that 1 in 5 Michiganders who have mental health care needs have utilized telehealth, compared to 1 percent of such visits before the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to telehealth services is particularly needed in Michigan, where 38 of Michigan’s 83 counties currently lack a behavioral health provider. 

The Telemental Health Care Access Act would additionally require the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit an annual report to Congress regarding the utilization of mental and behavioral health services through telehealth. The bipartisan bill is supported by numerous stakeholders, including the American Counseling Association, American Psychiatric Association, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Association on Health and Disability, Clinical Social Work Association, Federation of American Hospitals, Health Innovation Alliance, Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, Mental Health America, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Association for Behavioral Health, National Association of Social Workers, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, Nurses Association, and the Wounded Warrior Project. 

Peters has fought to improve access to essential health care for Michiganders and Americans across the country. Peters also cosponsors the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act, which would also expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare. Earlier this year, Peters introduced legislation to expand Michiganders’ access to critical health care services by helping to prevent rural emergency room closures. In 2023, his bipartisan provision to expand access to opioid addiction treatment for adolescents advanced in the Senate. Last year, Peters also introduced bipartisan legislation that would reduce health care costs for individuals at risk for diabetes and extend Medicare coverage for medical nutrition therapy services to Americans with pre-diabetes. 

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