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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Sep 18, 2013
Behavioral Health Information Technology Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include as a health care provider behavioral and mental health professionals, substance abuse professionals, psychiatric hospitals, certain community mental health centers (including one operated by a county behavioral health agency), and residential or outpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment facilities.
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), with respect to incentives for meaningful use of certified electronic health records (EHR) technology under the pay schedule for physician's services, to include as additional eligible professionals clinical psychologists providing qualified psychologist services and clinical social workers. Subjects any additional eligible professionals, including those under a MedicareAdvantage (MA) plan, to reductions in incentive payments after a certain date for failure to be a meaningful EHR user.
Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to treat as Medicaid providers the following additional Medicaid providers: (1) public and certain private hospitals that are principally psychiatric hospitals, (2) certain community mental health centers, and (3) certain residential or outpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment facilities.
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Makes eligible professionals under the Medicaid program certain clinical psychologists providing qualified psychologist services and certain clinical social workers.
People & committees
Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] · D–RI
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
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Source last updated: Aug 12, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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