New Medicare Policy Could Bring Mental Health Care to Millions More Americans
WASHINGTON, DC – Nov. 5, 2026 – Seven in 10 Americans want their primary care doctors to address both physical and mental health, yet nearly one-third say they have never been asked about their mental health during an office visit. Even more concerning, roughly one in three people who say they have anxiety, depression or substance use disorders, say they don’t know how to find a mental health provider, according to recent research from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America.
That may soon change thanks to new payment policy announced today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that improves reimbursement for Collaborative Care, an evidence-based approach that integrates services into primary care.
Estimates suggest limited utilization of Collaborative Care despite decades of research demonstrating its effectiveness. Insufficient reimbursement, workforce shortages, and operational challenges have limited its reach, leaving millions of Americans without access to a proven approach to treating common mental health conditions.
“Americans want behavioral health to be part of their regular healthcare, and there is a proven way to deliver it. What has been missing is the support to make it widely available,” said Timothy A. Lash, President of West Health and Chair of the West Health Policy Center. “We applaud CMS for recognizing the value of Collaborative Care and taking an important step toward making this approach financially sustainable for primary care practices and available to millions more Americans.”
Collaborative Care brings together a primary care provider, behavioral health care manager, and a psychiatric consultant to coordinate treatment for patients with conditions such as depression and anxiety. Rather than requiring patients to figure out where and how they can get help, the model makes behavioral health treatment part of their regular medical care, which can lead to quicker diagnosis and treatment.
West Health has been working to accelerate the adoption of Collaborative Care through partnerships with leading health systems, Through the Northwestern Medicine West Health Accelerator, launched in 2024, the health system has expanded Collaborative Care to its entire primary care population (86 clinics), providing access to more than 500,000 patients.
“Improving access to behavioral health requires more than recognizing the problem. It requires changing how care is delivered, how providers are supported and how success is measured. We’re helping build those resources and capabilities today at Northwestern and leveraging that experience to help advance the model all over the country,” Lash said.
West Health is also partnering with the American Psychiatric Association on workforce training and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) on establishing standard clinical and economic measures for the Collaborative Care Model.
In the CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, released on Nov. 4, 2026, CMS finalized increases to the work RVUs for Collaborative Care services and updated the clinical labor rates for the Behavioral Health Care Manager. The change will increase payments as much as 73% from the previous Medicare rates and is a key step toward reducing the scale required to sustain a program and expanding access to the model.
About West Health
Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health is a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations that include the Gary and Mary West Foundation and Gary and Mary West Health Institute in San Diego and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C. West Health is dedicated to lowering healthcare costs to enable seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality and affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence. Learn more at westhealth.org.
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