Medicare lets mental health doctors work alone in more places
H.R. 9990 — Increasing Mental Health Options Act of 2026 · Filed by Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill lets mental health doctors provide care without a doctor's watch. It removes this rule in nursing homes, home health, and psychiatric buildings. The bill gives mental health doctors a 10% pay raise. The raise goes to doctors who work in areas with few mental health doctors.
Who it affects
People who need mental health care in rural areas get easier access. Mental health doctors who work in these areas earn more money. Medicare pays for the raises from its Part B fund.
One thing to notice
Mental health doctors can now work without a doctor watching them in some places. Rules will vary by state because the bill only works where state law allows it.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Jul 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 30, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- mental health doctors — Doctors with a doctorate degree who diagnose and treat mental illness.
- Medicare — Government health insurance for people age 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities.
- Part B fund — The part of Medicare that pays for doctor visits, funded by monthly payments from people on Medicare.
- rural areas — Places far from cities where few doctors and mental health workers live.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,119 characters) on Aug 5, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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