Bill · S. 5137· Senate(119-S-5137)
CARE for Mental Health Professionals Act
- Introduced
- 7/27/2026
- Last activity
- 7/27/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Sponsored by
- Angus King
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create the Mental Health Licensure Portability Program. This program will be managed through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration. The program aims to award grants to eligible entities for specific projects. These projects include incentivizing counselors to practice in States that have entered into interstate compacts. Additionally, the grants will support the development, operation, or maintenance of interstate compact commissions.
Yes
Does this make mental health care easier to get?+7
The bill directly aims to increase mental health service availability by facilitating licensure portability for counselors.
Does this make health care easier to get in general?+4
Expanding the mental health workforce contributes to overall healthcare accessibility.
Is this likely to create jobs?+3
By incentivizing counselors to practice across state lines, the bill helps expand the mental health workforce.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Expanding the mental health workforce: The bill seeks to incentivize counselors to practice in States that have entered into interstate compacts, which aims to expand the workforce of credentialled mental health professionals (Section 2(a)(1)).
-
Supporting interstate compact infrastructure: Grants can be used to develop, operate, or maintain interstate compact commissions that help effectuate the provisions of interstate compacts (Section 2(a)(2)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts or burdens are explicitly mentioned in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Healthcare
- Improves Mental Health Access+7Improves Healthcare Access+4
- Economy And Finance
- Increases Job Creation+3
- 7/27/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.