Iowa Medicaid boost in substance abuse, mental health services

DES MOINES — State officials have significantly raised Iowa Medicaid’s reimbursement rate for substance abuse counseling.

The 2023 Iowa legislature approved a $13 million increase in Iowa’s Medicaid program for both substance abuse and mental health services. Three million dollars of that is being used to nearly double Medicaid’s reimbursement rate for substance abuse counseling. Seven million dollars is being used to provide a more than 18% increase in what Medicaid will cover for a counseling session with a mental health professional.

The other $3 million is being used to raise the daily Medicaid reimbursement for in-patient psychiatric care for children.