Expanding Seniors Access to Mental Health Services Act

This bill seeks to significantly improve access to mental health services for Medicare beneficiaries by making crucial amendments to the Social Security Act concerning clinical social worker services. It primarily focuses on expanding the scope and accessibility of these services. Specifically, the legislation ensures that clinical social worker services provided to residents of skilled nursing facilities are no longer bundled under the facility's prospective payment system, allowing for separate Medicare billing. This change aims to increase the availability of these vital services to SNF residents. Furthermore, the bill expands the definition of covered clinical social worker services to include health and behavior assessment and intervention , encompassing a broader range of therapeutic interventions, with an effective date of January 1, 2026.