AHA-supported bill would remove Medicare’s lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric days

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Reps. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., and Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., have introduced the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act (S. 3061/H.R. 5674), AHA-supported legislation that would eliminate the Medicare program’s 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric days in freestanding psychiatric facilities.  
 
“As we work to further integrate physical and behavioral health to better address the nation’s behavioral health needs, one major obstacle to parity remains in the Medicare program — the 190-day lifetime limit on coverage for certain inpatient psychiatric treatment,” AHA said in letters of support to the House and Senate sponsors. “With the nation’s population aging and an increasing number of seniors and people with disabilities seeking inpatient care to address their behavioral health needs, now is the time to repeal this discriminatory policy and ensure that Medicare beneficiaries can receive necessary inpatient psychiatric care.”