OT Mental Health Parity Act, Compact Update, & NCSL Legislative Summit

On August 2, 2022, U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced the Occupational Therapy Mental Health Parity Act (S. 4712). This bill will help expand access to occupational therapy services for mental and behavioral health disorders under Medicare and Medicaid. It seeks to remove barriers to the provision of occupational therapy services for someone with a mental health diagnosis under Medicare and Medicaid—where these services are an allowed, but under-recognized, benefit. This, in turn, would help Medicare and Medicaid recipients more readily access occupational therapy services for behavioral health challenges impacting functional skills, and help address the shortage of behavioral health professionals.