An ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will examine the current challenges in ensuring broad access to high-quality behavioral health care services through the Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace programs, and will propose strategies to address those challenges. In particular, the committee will propose strategies to increase participation of the behavioral health workforce in these programs in order to ensure adequate capacity and access to care amid increased demand for behavioral health care by Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

In developing its findings and recommendations, the committee will consider the following:

· Factors that incentivize or disincentivize behavioral health care provider participation in the Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace programs, with attention to provider type (e.g., physician, psychologist, advance practice nurse, and social worker), including:

o Current perceptions and/or experiences among behavioral health care professionals and trainees about the challenges that impede participation

o Current administrative processes and policies that produce perceived or experienced burden, and how these might be clarified, simplified, or streamlined to reduce barriers to participation and improve access to care

o Infrastructure requirements (e.g. electronic health records, participation in third-party billing systems, capacity to contract with managed care or other payers, data collection and reporting)

· Barriers and potential facilitators and innovative strategies that could encourage behavioral health practitioners to work with Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, including those with complex social, economic, and environmental needs.

The committee will make recommendations that could be implemented in the short-term under existing statutory authorities, as well as recommendations for initiatives that may require additional authorities or require a longer timeframe to implement. The committee will also host multiple public webinars to seek input from experts and the public on potentials solutions. A proceedings of those public sessions will be prepared and published prior to the release of the committee’s final report with conclusions and recommendations.