Aligning Training, Regulation, and Payment Policy to Advance the Behavioral Health Workforce

The US is facing an unprecedented behavioral health crisis,  exacerbated by workforce shortages that limit access to treatment. Estimates over the last 25 years have consistently reported that only half of those needing mental health care receive it and less than 20% of those who need addiction treatment gain access to services. The stress and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic brought an increasing need for behavioral health services that has far outpaced the supply of the behavioral health workforce. More than half of the US population lives in a mental health professional shortage area and fewer than 30% of rural counties have access to a psychiatrist. In response to these persistent and intensifying concerns, states are focused on addressing the behavioral health workforce crisis. Two ways states are attempting to increase access to behavioral health services are through: 1) expanding the functions and roles of the existing behavioral health workforce; and 2) developing new types of behavioral health care workers. Yet, efforts to increase workforce capacity through existing and new behavioral health pathways require simultaneous alignment of training, regulation, and payment policy; without all three components in place, the workforce cannot be effectively deployed.