CMS Updates Web-Based Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Content to Mark Mental Health Awareness Month

Federal officials announced last week that they were updating web-based content related to mental health and substance use disorders (SUD) as one way to mark the arrival of May’s Mental Health Awareness Month.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made the announcement as part of its broader Behavioral Health Strategy, suggesting the move will make it easier for users to access information related to treatment of such issues; go to https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/mental-health-substance-use-disorder to see the new updates. On that page is also a general breakdown of what related services Medicare covers, such as those given upon admission to a general or psychiatric hospital (Part A), behavioral health integration services (Part D), or a host of services under Part B (inpatient services in an acute-care hospital, intensive outpatient program services, partial hospitalization services, and behavioral health integration services).

The federal Behavioral Health Strategy has a threefold aim, focusing on:

• Substance Use Disorders Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services;
• Ensuring Effective Pain Treatment and Management; and
• Improving Mental Health Care and Services.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that while more 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental illness, only 47.2 percent of them received any treatment for it in 2021, and more than a third of them also experienced a SUD that year.

Such issues have been contributing to a stubborn rise in the U.S. suicide rate, which was just 10.7 per 100,000 in 2001 but has steadily yet slowly climbed ever since, reaching a 20-year high of 14.3 in 2022. The CDC reported that nearly 50,000 Americans died due to suicide in 2022, the highest such figure ever recorded since comprehensive recordkeeping began in 1941.

Federal officials paired their announcement on the web-based information updates with a reminder to all Americans.

“Make it a point to check in with your loved ones during Mental Health Awareness Month and participate in Prevention Week, May 12-18, which promotes positive mental health and preventing substance use,” CMS’s announcement read. “You never know what someone else is going through until you ask. For resources and support, visit https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help to explore your options, where you can find 24/7 crisis counseling, confidential treatment referral, and more.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, officials urge a call or text to 988, or a chat with the federal 988lifeline.org, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A call to 911 becomes an imperative in the event of an immediate or acute crisis.

For more information on the CMS Behavioral Health Strategy, go online to https://www.cms.gov/cms-behavioral-health-strategy.