RISE Rule Caps Federal Student Loans at $20,500 for Behavioral Health Graduate Programs. Master’s-Level BCBAs, Social Workers, and Counselors Fall Outside the New “Professional Degree” Definition.

by Ethan Webb | May 6, 2026 | Regulation

Key Takeaways A narrow professional-degree definition is now final. The Department of Education’s May 1 rule limits the $50,000 annual federal student loan cap to 11 fields, including medicine, dentistry, law, veterinary medicine, and clinical psychology, while...

North Carolina Medicaid ABA Rates Restored After Court Injunction: HB 696 Now Sets the Oversight Terms for Autism Providers

by Ethan Webb | May 5, 2026 | Regulation

Key Takeaways A 10 percent cut was reversed. NCDHHS reduced RB-BHT rates by 10 percent on October 1, 2025 amid a Medicaid budget shortfall, then restored all 2025 rate reductions to September 30, 2025 levels after Governor Stein’s December 10, 2025 directive;...

Behavioral Health Reimbursement Lags Behind the Clinical Evidence It Is Supposed to Support. Providers Say That Gap Is Freezing Innovation Inside Their Own Programs.

by Ethan Webb | May 5, 2026 | Regulation

Key Takeaways Reimbursement dictates clinical practice: Administrators describe the dynamic with a rueful shorthand (“You do what you get paid for”) that captures the gap between what research recommends and what payers will cover in behavioral health. Prior...

Peer Support Specialists Are a Mainstream Fixture in Substance Use Disorder Treatment. Mental Health Has Been Slower to Adopt Them, and Reimbursement Policy Is a Big Reason Why.

by Ethan Webb | May 4, 2026 | Technology

Key Takeaways Peer support adoption is uneven across behavioral health: Substance use disorder treatment has integrated peer specialists into mainstream practice, while mental health treatment has been slower to embrace the model despite close clinical overlap between...

Kentucky Medicaid ABA Rates Increase for 2026: Licensed Behavior Analysts, MCO Delivery, and a Quieter Policy Environment Than Most States

by Ethan Webb | May 4, 2026 | Regulation

Key Takeaways ABA rates went up April 1, 2026. Kentucky’s revised behavioral health fee schedule raised every ABA code by roughly 8 percent, with 97153 moving from the prior rate of $11.25 to $12.18 per 15 minutes for RBT-delivered services in Column 6. Access...