[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-428034-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-428034-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","advancing-mental-healthcare-access-for-older-people-results-from-the-national-medicare-access-initiative","ADVANCING MENTAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS FOR OLDER PEOPLE - Results from the National Medicare ACCESS Initiative","","Study addresses persistent barriers to mental health services for older adults despite unmet needs. Following expanded Medicare eligibility for licensed mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists effective January 1, 2024, the national Medicare ACCESS research initiative examined newly enrolled providers’ early experiences, motivations, concerns, and gerontological counseling competencies. Among 127 respondents, 87.4% served at least one older client; high motivations included improving access and supporting one’s community, while top concerns involved reimbursement rates and policy compliance. Provider age and attitude toward aging predicted gerontological competencies, informing enrollment and service delivery and advocacy efforts.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/advancing-mental-healthcare-access-for-older-people-results-from-the-national-medicare-access-initiative/428034/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/advancing-mental-healthcare-access-for-older-people-results-from-the-national-medicare-access-initiative/428034.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Rizky","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-04","2026-09-29",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",5,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What problem does the study address for older adults?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Older adults have historically faced limited access to mental health services despite having unmet mental health needs.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What was the Medicare ACCESS initiative designed to understand?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It examined newly enrolled providers’ initial experiences, motivating factors and concerns, and gerontological counseling competencies related to the Medicare program.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Which factors were most highly rated as motivations and concerns for Medicare enrollment?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"High-importance motivations included expanding access to mental healthcare for older adults and supporting one’s community. Main concerns included Medicare reimbursement rates and compliance with Medicare policies.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},428034,1790719295,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":22,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":30},962085564807,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","900 Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2  \nAbstract citation ID: igaf122.3044  \nADVANCING MENTAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS FOR OLDER PEOPLE: RESULTS FROM THE NATIONAL MEDICARE ACCESS INITIATIVE  \nJordan Westcott1, Alexis Isaac2, and Matthew Fullen2,  \n1. University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, 2. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States  \nHistorically, older adults have had limited access to mental health services despite having unmet mental health needs (Adepoju et al., 2018). After more than 30 years of advocacy, licensed mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists became eligible for participation in the Medicare program on January 1, 2024 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023), leading more than  \n60,000 new mental health professionals to enroll in the Medicare program ([CMS.gov](CMS.gov), n.d.). Therefore, the authors developed the national Medicare ACCESS research initiative to understand initial experiences, motivating factors and concerns, and gerontological counseling competencies with the Medicare program among the newly enrolled mental health provider workforce. Among 127 respondents, 87.4% had provided services to one or more older adult clients since enrolling in the Medicare program. Most highly rated motivating factors for Medicare enrollment included expanding mental healthcare access for older adults (60.8% rated as high importance) and supporting people in one’s community (57.6%), and providers were most concerned about Medicare reimbursement rates (68.0%) and compliance with Medicare policies (56.0%) after enrolling. These findings will be contextualized with textual responses illuminating provider perspectives. Additionally, provider age (b = .186, p = .035) and provider attitude toward aging (b = -.319, p \u003C .001) had significant linear relationships with gerontological counseling competencies, R2 =.164, F(2, 114) = 11.16, p \u003C .001 with a moderate effect size (f2 = .196; Cohen, 1988). Implications for provider enrollment efforts, service delivery for older adults seeking mental healthcare, and Medicare advocacy will be discussed.","cbCaifpSsFSd0Dci","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifpSsFSd0Dci","pdf",47217,"English","# Abstract\n## Background and Medicare eligibility expansion\n## Provider motivations and concerns\n## Provider experiences and service delivery\n## Predictors of gerontological counseling competencies\n## Implications for enrollment and Medicare advocacy","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the study address for older adults?\",\"answer\":\"Older adults have historically faced limited access to mental health services despite having unmet mental health needs.\"},{\"question\":\"What was the Medicare ACCESS initiative designed to understand?\",\"answer\":\"It examined newly enrolled providers’ initial experiences, motivating factors and concerns, and gerontological counseling competencies related to the Medicare program.\"},{\"question\":\"Which factors were most highly rated as motivations and concerns for Medicare enrollment?\",\"answer\":\"High-importance motivations included expanding access to mental healthcare for older adults and supporting one’s community. Main concerns included Medicare reimbursement rates and compliance with Medicare policies.\"}]","ADVANCING MENTAL HEALTHCARE ACCESS FOR OLDER PEOPLE - Results from the National Medicare ACCESS Initiative | PDF",1790645592]