The "COMPLETE Care Act" incentivizes the integration of behavioral health services into primary care by increasing Medicare payments for specific services and providing technical assistance to primary care practices.
Catherine Cortez Masto
Senator
NV
The "COMPLETE Care Act" aims to improve access to mental healthcare by providing financial incentives through Medicare for integrating behavioral health services into primary care settings. These incentives include increased payments for specific behavioral health services from 2027-2029 and technical assistance for primary care practices to adopt effective integration models. The bill ensures that increased payments will not trigger cuts to other Medicare services and allocates funding for the technical assistance program.
COMPLETE Care Act Proposes Medicare Payment Boosts (Up to 175%) for Integrating Behavioral Health in Primary Care Starting 2027
This bill, titled the "COMPLETE Care Act," aims to weave behavioral healthcare more tightly into routine primary care visits by offering temporary financial incentives through Medicare.
Money Talks: Boosting Payments for Integrated Care
The core idea is straightforward: pay primary care practices more for offering specific behavioral health integration services. For care provided in 2027, 2028, and 2029, Medicare payments for certain services (identified by codes like 99484 for general integration and 99492-99494 for the Collaborative Care Model, among others) would see a significant jump:
- 2027: 175% of the standard Medicare rate
- 2028: 150% of the standard rate
- 2029: 125% of the standard rate
Crucially, the bill specifies these increased payments won't be 'budget neutral.' In plain English, this extra spending won't trigger automatic cuts to other Medicare services to balance the books.
Getting Practices On Board: Training Wheels Included
Recognizing that integrating behavioral health isn't just flipping a switch, the bill also mandates support for doctors' offices. By January 1, 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is tasked with providing technical assistance. This means offering guidance and resources to help primary care teams adopt established methods like the Collaborative Care Model or the Primary Care Behavioral Health model. Think of it as a 'how-to' guide backed by federal support. To make this happen, the bill allocates funding specifically for this technical assistance program from 2025 through 2029.
What This Could Mean for Your Doctor Visits
If this bill moves forward, the goal is to make it easier for you to discuss and access mental or behavioral health support directly through your trusted primary care physician. The temporary payment bumps (2027-2029) are designed to encourage more practices to build the capacity to offer these integrated services. While it doesn't require practices to change, the financial incentive plus the technical help could lead to more seamless coordination between your physical and mental healthcare needs during regular check-ups.