Cortez Masto reintroduces bill to improve access to behavioral health and substance use disorder treatments

Nevada’s senior US Senator says the COMPLETE Care Act would allow primary care clinics to hire mental health professionals — a model that experts note can help doctors identify and treat mental health and substance use disorders before someone reaches a crisis.  

Nevada Democratic US Sen.  Catherine Cortez Masto on Tuesday reintroduced new, bipartisan legislation aimed at improving access to mental health services and substance use disorder treatments. 

Officially named the Connecting Our Medical Providers with Links to Expand Tailored and Effective (COMPLETE) Care Act, the bill would provide additional funding to primary care clinics to treat Medicare patients through the utilization Collaborative Care Models (CoCM) and Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) Models. 

While some primary care physicians may be trained to address some mental health issues, most primary care doctors in the US must usually recommend patients to a specialist to receive further care. But supporters of the CoCM and PCBH models say by placing mental health professionals within a primary care facility, primary care physicians and support staff can collaborate together for treatments tailored for a given patient, and more quickly diagnose and treat issues in-house and more quickly.   

These models have been proven to increase access to services, reduce patient wait times, and improve patient outcomes, according to Cortez Masto’s office. 

The bill was also introduced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). 

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“Mental health support should be as easy to access as possible for Nevadans and for everyone across America,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. “Our bipartisan bill helps health care providers integrate mental health and substance use disorder care into their practices, giving patients the opportunity to get the care they need in just one place. It’s a commonsense fix that makes treatment more accessible.” 

Arthur Evans, chief executive of the American Psychological Association, said in a statement the COMPLETE Care Act would enable primary care facilities to implement CoCM and PCBH models — and allow clinics that do not currently offer these services to integrate these models of care. That, in turn, will allow providers to identify symptoms of mental health and substance use disorders before someone reaches a crisis. 

“By integrating physicians, psychologists, and other behavioral health providers into cohesive teams, this legislation creates a win-win-win: expanding access to mental health and substance use services, improving outcomes for those with chronic conditions, and reducing healthcare costs by preventing unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency visits,” Evans said. “This bill is a critical step toward treating the whole person and breaking down the barriers of fragmented care.” 

In addition to the American Psychological Association, the bill has also been endorsed by other medical groups like the American Psychiatric Association and the Primary Care Collaborative. Cortez Masto and Cornyn introduced a similar bill in 2023, but it ultimately did not have enough support to move forward. 

It’s not clear this time around that the bill has enough buy-in from others to advance further than it did nearly two years ago, but Cornyn in a statement said the bottom line is that it would make it easier for those battling with depression, anxiety, or substance abuse to get the treatment they need. 

“Our bill would encourage primary care providers to collaborate with behavioral health care providers to increase access to mental health for patients,” Cornyn said. “I’m grateful to Sen. Cortez Masto for her partnership on this important issue.”