Does Medicare Cover Mental Health Therapy and Counseling? — the Straight Answer

Yes. Medicare Part B covers outpatient mental health care — therapy, psychiatric evaluation, and medication management — from professionals who accept Medicare. A yearly depression screening costs nothing in a primary care setting when the provider accepts assignment.

What Original Medicare covers

Medicare Part B covers outpatient mental health care much like any other medical care: individual and group psychotherapy, psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis, medication management, and family counseling when its main purpose is helping your own treatment. It also covers a depression screening once a year at no cost when it's done in a primary care setting by a provider who accepts assignment, and more intensive outpatient options — partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs — when your doctor certifies you need them.

The list of providers who can bill Medicare is broader than it used to be: psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and — since 2024 — licensed marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors.

If you ever need inpatient psychiatric care, Part A covers it. One quirk worth knowing: care in a freestanding psychiatric hospital has a 190-day lifetime limit; care in a general hospital's psychiatric unit does not.

What it does not cover

Care from therapists who don't work with Medicare at all. Many private-practice therapists have opted out, and if you see one, you pay the full fee yourself — so ask "Do you accept Medicare?" before the first appointment. Counseling that isn't treatment for a diagnosed condition, such as life coaching, isn't covered either.

What it costs

The yearly depression screening comes at no cost to you. For therapy and other outpatient mental health services, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the $283 annual Part B deductible. Medications for mental health conditions generally fall under your Part D drug plan, not Part B. Medicare Advantage plans must cover the same mental health services, though networks and copays differ plan to plan.

Who to ask

If you've been feeling persistently low, anxious, or not yourself, start with your regular doctor — the screening costs nothing, and your doctor can refer you to someone who takes Medicare. Talk to a licensed advisor if you're comparing coverage and want to understand how ongoing therapy costs are handled under different arrangements.