Why Getting Tele-Behavioral Health Policy Right Is So Important for Medicare

Given the seismic shift of the behavioral health care delivery system to virtual care since the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the growing need for these services, policy decisions around tele-behavioral health are ones that Congress and the administration must address in order to close the gap between what Americans need and what services are available. The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) took an in-depth look at the use of telehealth services by traditional Medicare beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the results, we offer our conclusions and recommendations for the future.