Improving CARE for Youth Act

Improving CARE for Youth Act (S. 5236) would amend Medicaid law (title XIX of the Social Security Act) to prohibit state Medicaid programs from denying payment for a mental health service and a primary care service provided to the same patient on the same day at the same office, clinic, or outpatient facility—whether by the same provider or different providers there. Currently, some state Medicaid billing rules treat same-day mental health and primary care visits as ineligible for separate reimbursement; this bill would bar plans from applying that restriction, so long as each service would otherwise be payable on its own.

The change affects Medicaid enrollees and the providers and facilities that serve them, particularly integrated or co-located care settings where a patient might see a primary care clinician and a behavioral health clinician during a single visit. By removing the same-day billing barrier, the bill is aimed at facilities that offer both types of care together, though the text itself only addresses payment rules, not staffing, funding levels, or clinical requirements.

The bill was introduced in the Senate on August 4, 2026, by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) with Sen. Bill Cassidy as a cosponsor, read twice, and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. It has not yet been voted on in committee or by the full Senate; further action would require committee consideration before any floor vote in the Senate and, separately, House passage, before it could be sent to the President.

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