skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Israel, Iran trade strikes as Trump weighs U.S. involvement in conflict; Challenge to ND gender-affirming care ban in play, despite SCOTUS ruling; 'Jubilee Day' was honored before Juneteenth in 1800s Indiana; Ohio urged to restore $61M for foster care in final budget talks.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Lawmakers on both sides urge President Trump not to enter the Israel-Iran war. Supreme Court deals the transgender community a major blow by upholding a Tennessee state law.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Hurricane Helene mobilized the North Carolina community of Marshall in unexpected ways, giant data centers powering AI want cheap rural land but can face community pushback, and ceramics made by Cherokee potters honor multiple generations.

Medicare expands mental health options starting next month

play audio
Play

Thursday, December 21, 2023   

People on Medicare who want to see a therapist often wait up to six months for an appointment, but relief is on the way.

Starting Jan. 1, licensed marriage and family therapists will be able to accept Medicare insurance.

Joy Alafia, executive director of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, which represents 36,000 therapists, said the change will help thousands.

"We already see that about 30% of people with Medicare insurance do live with a mental illness, and only about 15% receive treatment from a behavioral health specialist," Alafia reported. "That data was as of 2021. So this is really a need that exists, wait times are extremely long, and this will help address them."

Therapists can help people who may be lonely and isolated battle anxiety, depression, addiction, mood disorders, stress or trauma. To set up an appointment, people can check with their Medicare provider.

Bindu Khurana-Brown, a licensed marriage and family therapist and associate director of the nonprofit Momentum for Health, a crisis unit for adults with serious mental illness as well as a community mobile response team at Momentum Health in San Jose, said the additional providers will be able to help with immediate mental health needs.

"When somebody finally makes that choice, that I want to get help, they can easily be deterred from seeking treatment if there's nobody available," Khurana-Brown pointed out. "Because there were fewer providers able to be on Medicare reimbursement, it limited just the amount of people who are educated and qualified to help people in need."

Licensed marriage and family therapists comprise 40% of the behavioral health workforce in California, which also includes social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists. Older adults are expected to make up one-quarter of the state's population within 7 years, as the over-60 population is projected to grow faster than any other age group.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A parklet is an elevated public space, usually converted from a parking space and used to enhance community experience and support local businesses. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Eight Wisconsin cities, including four rural communities, will receive improvements to help make their communities more livable. Eleven grantees …


Social Issues

play sound

A bill prohibiting credit reporting on Oregonians' medical debt has been signed into law by Gov. Tina Kotek. Hailed as a significant victory for …

Environment

play sound

June is World Oceans Month, and advocates are warning that industrial shipping pollution hurts both oceans and port communities. At least 31 …


Flowers and notes are placed outside the Brooklyn Park home of state Rep. Melissa Hortman after the Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were fatally shot in what police say was a politically motivated attack. (Mike Moen/PNS)

Social Issues

play sound

Minnesotans gathered at the state Capitol last night for a candlelight vigil for Rep. Melissa Hortman, D-Brooklyn Park, after she was assassinated …

Social Issues

play sound

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday released an opinion that allows Tennessee to keep in place a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. While seen …

More than 500 Ohio children were reported sleeping in county government offices over a one-year period due to a lack of foster care placements. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Ohio child welfare advocates are urging lawmakers to restore more than $60 million in funding to address the state's ongoing foster care placement cri…

Social Issues

play sound

A Pennsylvania literacy organization is commemorating the Juneteenth holiday by highlighting the history and contributions of Black people in the Unit…

Environment

play sound

Forest fires have broken out in parts of New Mexico that state forecasters had already warned would see an elevated wildfire risk this summer due to h…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021