45% Of Surveyed Behavioral Health Professionals Were Not Accepting New Appointments For Medicare Or Medicaid Beneficiaries 

About 45% of behavioral health professionals with credentials to serve Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries were not accepting new appointments in 2023, according to a federal survey report. The health care providers were not accepting new consumers enrolled in traditional Medicare, a Medicare Advantage plan, or in a Medicaid managed care organization (MCO). The report concluded that addressing the workforce shortage of behavioral health professionals in Medicare and Medicaid could improve beneficiary access to behavioral health care and reduce wait times for new appointments.;

The lack of appointments varied slightly by prescriber status. No appointments were available with 43% of . . .