[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4484 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4484
To expand psychological mental and behavioral health services to
Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries by permitting reimbursement
of psychological services provided by certain supervised psychology
trainees, and facilitating the reimbursement of those services.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 17, 2025
Mr. Balderson (for himself, Mrs. Dingell, Mrs. Miller of West Virginia,
and Ms. DelBene) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee
on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
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A BILL
To expand psychological mental and behavioral health services to
Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries by permitting reimbursement
of psychological services provided by certain supervised psychology
trainees, and facilitating the reimbursement of those services.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Accelerating the Development of
Advanced Psychology Trainees Act'' or the ``ADAPT Act''.
SEC. 2. COVERAGE AND CODING FOR QUALIFIED PSYCHOLOGIST SERVICES
FURNISHED BY ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGY TRAINEES UNDER THE
MEDICARE PROGRAM.
(a) Coverage.--
(1) In general.--Section 1861(ii) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(ii)) is amended--
(A) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(ii)'';
(B) in paragraph (1), as added by paragraph (1) of
this section, by inserting ``(or furnished by an
advanced psychology trainee under the general
supervision of a clinical psychologist (as so defined)
and billed by the supervising psychologist)'' after
``(as defined by the Secretary)''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(2) In this subsection:
``(A) The term `advanced psychology trainee' means--
``(i) a doctoral intern who is completing a
required period of supervised experiential training
through a program accredited by the American
Psychological Association, not less than one year in
duration, before being awarded a doctoral degree; or
``(ii) a postdoctoral resident who has obtained a
doctoral degree in psychology, is seeking a license to
practice psychology, and is engaged in a 1- or 2-year
period of additional supervised experiential training
to acquire the skills or hours required for licensure
through a program accredited by the American
Psychological Association or a member of the
Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship
Centers.
``(B) The term `general supervision' means, with respect to
a service, that the service is furnished under the overall
direction and control of a clinical psychologist (as defined
for purposes of paragraph (1)), but the supervising
psychologist's presence is not required during the furnishing
of the service.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall apply to services furnished on or after the date that is
1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Development of GC Modifier Code.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall develop a ``GC'' modifier code to identify and
accurately bill for services furnished by an advanced psychology
trainee pursuant to the amendments made by subsection (a).
SEC. 3. GUIDANCE TO STATES ON COVERAGE OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY ADVANCED
PSYCHOLOGY TRAINEES UNDER MEDICAID AND CHIP.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall issue and disseminate
guidance to States on strategies to overcome existing barriers to
coverage of services furnished by advanced psychology trainees (as
defined under section 1861(ii)(2) of the Social Security Act, as added
by section 2(a), through the Medicaid program under title XIX of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and the Children's Health
Insurance Program under title XXI of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et
seq.)). Such guidance shall include technical assistance and best
practices regarding each of the following:
(1) Recommended legal mechanisms for activating coverage of
services furnished by advanced psychology trainees under such
programs.
(2) Recommended billing codes and code modifiers for
services furnished by advanced psychology trainees.
(3) Examples of States that have used waivers under the
Medicaid program or Children's Health Insurance Program to
enable coverage of services furnished by advanced psychology
trainees under such programs.
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