2025 in review: Medicaid cuts, CCBHC gains and the rise of AI in BH field

The year 2025 was a year of extraordinary turbulence for the nation's mental health system, as Medicaid policy changes, federal funding cuts, and shifting eligibility rules collided with rising demand for care. As Congress weighed reductions to key behavioral health initiatives, advocacy groups mobilized to protect mental health funding, urging lawmakers to reject cuts, avoid imposing burdensome Medicaid work requirements and preserve broad access to Medicaid. Their efforts stressed growing concern about how fiscal and policy decisions could affect community mental health providers already strained by workforce shortages, rising demand and persistent challenges in care coordination.