Congress funds rural mental health via telehealth—closing a care gap
H.R. 6817 — Home-Based Telemental Health Care Act of 2025 · Filed by Andrea Salinas (D-OR) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 17, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill authorizes up to $10 million per year (2025–2029) in federal grants to nonprofit and public telehealth networks to expand remote mental health and substance-abuse services for rural populations and agricultural workers (farmers, fishers, foresters) in their homes. The grants fund service delivery, quality measurement, broadband expansion, patient devices, and provider technology infrastructure. The HHS Secretary, working with USDA, will report on outcomes every 2–3 years.
Why we flagged it
The bill authorizes federal grants to expand remote mental health and substance-use services for underserved rural populations and agricultural workers. It is a public-health infrastructure measure with clear beneficiary populations and measurable outcomes.
What the text implies
- Broadband expansion funded through mental-health grants may create spillover infrastructure benefits for rural broadband access beyond telehealth, potentially benefiting agricultural and forestry industries' digital connectivity.
- Device provision and technology cost offsets may create recurring revenue streams for telehealth platform vendors and device manufacturers serving rural markets.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
telehealth platform providers; mental health service networks; broadband infrastructure companies