Skip to main content
S. 838 118th Congress Senate

Improving Access to Mental Health Act of 2023

Official title: A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve access to mental health services under the Medicare program.

Introduced: June 21, 2023 See on congress.gov
Health Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal careMedical tests and diagnostic methodsMedicareMental health
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
NursingSocial work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 118th Congress ended
It never became law before the 118th Congress (2023–2024) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 16, 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mar 16, 2023
Introduced in Senate
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action March 16, 2023

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Improving Access to Mental Health Act of 2023

This bill increases the Medicare reimbursement rate for clinical social worker services. The bill excludes clinical social worker services from the prospective payment system in which predetermined amounts form the basis for payment under Medicare.

Additionally, the bill alters the definition of clinical social worker services as it relates to Medicare. Under current law, such services (1) include services performed for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, and (2) exclude services furnished to an inpatient of a skilled nursing facility as a condition of the facility's participation in the Medicare program. The bill repeals these provisions and instead specifies that such services include certain types of health behavior assessment and intervention.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 1638 Identical bill Improving Access to Mental Health Act of 2023
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 19

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

  • NEW YORK BANKERS ASSOCIATION
    for NEW YORK BANKERS ASSOCIATION · New York · 3rd Quarter 2026 (July 1 - Sep 30)
  • COBANK, ACB
    for COBANK ACB · Colorado · 3rd Quarter 2026 (July 1 - Sep 30)
  • NEW YORK BANKERS ASSOCIATION
    for NEW YORK BANKERS ASSOCIATION · New York · 2nd Quarter 2026 (Apr 1 - June 30)
  • NEW YORK BANKERS ASSOCIATION
    for NEW YORK BANKERS ASSOCIATION · New York · 2nd Quarter 2026 (Apr 1 - June 30)
  • MONUMENT ADVOCACY
    for FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION · District of Columbia · 2nd Quarter 2026 (Apr 1 - June 30)
  • COBANK, ACB
    for COBANK ACB · Colorado · 2nd Quarter 2026 (Apr 1 - June 30)

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 19 filings →
 Cosponsors 11
All 11 Democratic 7 Republican 2 Independent 1
D
Coons, Christopher A.
Delaware · Sep 11, 2024
 D
Shaheen, Jeanne
New Hampshire · Jul 9, 2024
 D
Smith, Tina
Minnesota · Jul 9, 2024
 R
Capito, Shelley Moore
West Virginia · Nov 29, 2023
 D
Klobuchar, Amy
Minnesota · Oct 25, 2023
 D
Peters, Gary C.
Michigan · Oct 19, 2023
 D
Murphy, Christopher
Connecticut · Sep 6, 2023
Sinema, Kyrsten
· Jul 26, 2023
 D
Blumenthal, Richard
Connecticut · Jun 21, 2023
 I
King, Angus S., Jr.
Maine · May 31, 2023
 R
Barrasso, John
Wyoming · Mar 16, 2023
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 838: Improving Access to Mental Health Act of 2023. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-838/
MLA
"S. 838: Improving Access to Mental Health Act of 2023." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-838/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 838, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-838/.
Markdown link
[S. 838: Improving Access to Mental Health Act of 2023](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-838/)
Report a problem