Behavioral Health Crisis Services Expansion Act of 2026

This bill aims to significantly expand coverage for crisis response services across a wide range of health programs. It defines "crisis response services" as mental health or substance use services provided to individuals experiencing a crisis by entities such as mobile crisis response teams , crisis receiving and stabilization facilities , or mental health and substance use urgent care facilities . Crisis receiving facilities must offer 24/7 services on a sliding scale, without rejecting patients based on ability to pay or other factors, and support "no-wrong-door" admissions. The legislation mandates coverage for these services under Medicare , establishing a payment basis and covering ambulance transport to appropriate facilities. It also makes crisis response services a mandatory benefit under Medicaid , allowing crisis providers to make presumptive eligibility determinations for patients. Additionally, the bill requires private group health plans and health insurance issuers to cover crisis response services, ensuring that financial requirements and treatment limitations are no more restrictive than those for medical and surgical benefits. Coverage is further extended to federal programs including TRICARE for military personnel, Veterans' Affairs for veterans, the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) . Most provisions are set to take effect three years after the bill's enactment.