What Medicare covers for mental health care

Therapy and outpatient care

Who can treat you

Psychiatrists and other doctors, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, and, since January 2024, licensed mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists.

What's covered

Individual, group and family therapy (when it's for your treatment), psychiatric evaluations, medication management, testing, and treatment for substance use.

What you pay

20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible ($283 in 2026), plus a copay in a hospital outpatient clinic. A yearly depression screening is free.

Not covered

Support groups that aren't therapy, transportation to appointments, and job training.

Ask whether the provider accepts Medicare before your first visit. Some therapists don't.

Telehealth from home

Mental health visits by video from your home are a permanent Medicare benefit, and audio-only calls are allowed in some cases. Starting January 1, 2028, you'll generally need an in-person visit within 6 months before starting telehealth and at least once every 12 months after; the yearly visit can sometimes be skipped if you and your provider agree the risks outweigh the benefits. If you begin by the end of 2027, you'll only need the yearly visit. Community health centers and rural health clinics have different timing.

Intensive programs

Partial hospitalization

A structured day program, usually 4 to 8 hours a day and at least 20 hours a week, as an alternative to a hospital stay.

Intensive outpatient program

At least 9 hours a week. You don't need to qualify for hospital care.

Opioid treatment programs

Medication, counseling and testing for opioid use disorder. Usually no copay at a participating program, after the Part B deductible.

Hospital care

Part A covers inpatient mental health care in a general hospital or a psychiatric hospital, with the same costs as any hospital stay: a $1,736 deductible per benefit period in 2026, then $434 a day for days 61 to 90. Hospital costs in detail.

• Care in a freestanding psychiatric hospital is limited to 190 days in your lifetime. Psychiatric units in general hospitals don't count toward it.

Medications

Medicare drug plans must cover all or nearly all antidepressants, antipsychotics and anticonvulsants, with limited exceptions. If your plan drops or restricts a drug during the year, it generally must give you 30 days' notice or a month's refill (a new generic can be swapped in right away, and drugs pulled for safety can be dropped at once), and you can ask for an exception. Medicare Advantage plans cover the same mental health care but may use networks and require approval first; emergency mental health care can't require approval.

In a crisis

Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, free and confidential, 24 hours a day. Veterans can press 1. In an immediate emergency, call 911.

Common questions

Keep reading

• What Medicare covers for a hospital stay (and why "observation" matters)What Part A pays for a hospital stay, the 2026 deductible and daily costs, the difference between being an inpatient and "under observation," and the notices and appeal rights you have.
• Medicare's free preventive care and yearly wellness visit, explainedWhat the "Welcome to Medicare" and yearly Wellness visits include (and why they aren't a physical), the screenings and vaccines Medicare covers at no cost, and when a "free" visit can still lead to a bill.
• How a good agent compares Medicare drug plans (and how to check their work)The premium is the smallest part of a drug plan's cost. What an agent should check for each of your prescriptions, the 2025 changes that cap your costs, and how to double-check the comparison.