Key to increasing access to behavioral health care in rural areas is integrating services into primary care, and key to the success of integration is expanding the behavioral health and primary care workforces. [...] Although RHCs are important to the future of behavioral health care in rural communities, they are limited to outpatient care and cannot be primarily engaged in mental health treatment.136 RHCs’ inability to provide more expansive treatment for mental health conditions dates back to 1977 and Public Law 95-210, the Rural Health Clinic Services Act. [...] Such a change is especially important and opportune given the removal of the X waiver allowing more primary care providers to prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder.143 A Medicare exception to same-day billing restrictions for substance use treatment, as already exists for same-day mental health and primary care visits, could expand patients’ access to SUD treatment and i. [...] For example, HRSA invested $60 million in 2022 to strengthen the health care workforce in rural communities; that amount included $46 million from the American Rescue Plan to expand workforce capacity in rural and tribal communities.193 The HHS secretary could direct HRSA to leverage these funds to support a greater number of tribal organizations by training primary care and behavioral health prov. [...] 40 Appendix A: Approaches to Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health Care Practice type Stand-alone Primary care Primary care Primary care System-level primary care and behavioral provider with provider co- integration provider health embedded care located with providers managers behavioral coordinating health care provider Major Primary care Primary care Primary care Primary care Primary care.
- Pages
- 59
- Published in
- United States of America
