Alliance Alert: The Alliance for Rights and Recovery strongly supports the reintroduction of the PEERS in Medicare Act and applauds the bipartisan leadership behind this legislation. Expanding Medicare coverage for peer support services is a critical step toward ensuring that more people, especially older adults and individuals in rural and underserved communities, can access recovery-oriented, person-centered support.
Peer support is a proven, high-impact service that improves engagement, reduces hospitalizations, strengthens social connection, and supports long-term recovery. The Alliance continues to push for the expansion of peer support services at all levels, including federally, so that lived experience is recognized as an essential part of an effective mental health and substance use service system.
We are hopeful that Congress will move this bill forward and pass it swiftly. Doing so would help close longstanding gaps in services, strengthen the recovery workforce, and ensure that Medicare beneficiaries can access peer support where they receive support in their communities.
Leading mental health organizations applaud reintroduction of PEERS in Medicare Act in Congress
Bipartisan legislation would expand access to lifesaving peer support services for people with substance use and mental health conditions
Joint statement by Mental Health America (MHA), the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness (ABHW), the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), Faces & Voices of Recovery (FAVOR), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH), the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC), the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (NCMW), One World Recovery Network (OWRN), and the Alliance for Rights and Recovery.
As our nation continues to respond to the ongoing overdose and mental health crises, we strongly support the reintroduction of the Promoting Effective and Empowering Recovery Services (PEERS) in Medicare Act in Congress, and urge swift passage of this important bill. This bipartisan legislation would expand access to lifesaving peer support for people with substance use and mental health conditions, by allowing Medicare to cover these services at rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and community mental health centers.
We applaud Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), and Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) for championing this bill, which will make it easier for people with substance use and mental health conditions to access the support that they need close to home.
Peer support specialists are people with experience of substance use and/or mental health conditions, who are trained to provide support to others who are experiencing similar conditions. Peer support services include a range of effective activities that promote recovery and well-being, and have been shown to:
- Lower the overall cost of mental health services
- Decrease hospitalization rates and the days spent in inpatient services
- Increase and improve engagement with treatment, care, and other services
- Decrease substance use, depression, and symptoms of mental health conditions
- Build social connection
- Improve whole health, including management of co-occurring chronic conditions like diabetes
- Improve quality of life
Increasing access to peer support services is especially promising for communities with limited or no access to substance use and mental health care providers, such as in rural regions and tribal communities in the United States. Peer support offers a low-cost, high-impact way to fill these critical gaps in the behavioral health care system, meeting people where they are and supporting effective, person-centered care in communities across the country.
This revised bill expands on a provision led by Sens. Cortez Masto and Cassidy and Reps. Chu and Smith that was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which allows Medicare to include peer support specialists as part of interdisciplinary integrated care teams, (such as in primary care settings).
Additional Information:
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Reps. Chu, Smith Introduce Bipartisan PEERS in Medicare Act to Bolster Mental Health Care
December 18, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep Judy Chu (CA-28) and Adrian Smith (NE-03) reintroduced the bipartisan PEERS Act to expand access to peer support services for seniors. The Promoting Effective and Empowering Recovery Services (PEERS) in Medicare Act would require Medicare to cover peer support services provided at rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, community mental health centers, and certified community behavioral health clinics. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (LA) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.
A peer support specialist is a person with “lived experience” who has been trained to support those who struggle with mental health, psychological trauma, or substance use. Peer support specialists do not take the place of mental health practitioners like physicians, psychologists, or social workers. Instead, they supplement these professionals as part of a larger care team to help someone struggling with substance abuse or mental health disorders on the road to recovery. Peer support services help reduce hospitalizations and behavioral crises, improve management of co-occurring physical conditions, help restore relationships and social connection, and ultimately save lives.
“Since my first job out of college with the Asian American Drug Abuse Program, I’ve fought for approaches to mental health and substance abuse that not only include prevention and treatment but recovery as well,” said Rep. Chu.“That is why I am leading this bill with Rep. Smith once again, because we want to help bolster the recovery care workforce in our country and expand peer support for Medicare recipients—to offer acceptance, understanding, and validation not found in many other professional relationships. By sharing their own lived experience and practical guidance, peer support workers help people to develop their own goals, create strategies for self‐empowerment, and take concrete steps towards building fulfilling, self‐determined lives for themselves.”
“One of the greatest mental health care challenges in our state and across rural regions of the United States is the shortage of professional mental health providers,” said Rep. Smith. “This bill would address this shortage by increasing access to trained and certified peer support specialists with a related or comparable diagnosis. Increasing access to peer support specialists has proven to be a low-cost, high-impact mental health care treatment option, especially in areas with limited or no access to traditional providers. I am glad to co-lead this bipartisan legislation. I thank Rep. Chu for her cooperation and will continue working on bettering mental health in our country.”
“Peer support meets people where they are, offering lifesaving care and connection for people with substance use disorders and mental health conditions,” said Caren Howard, Mental Health America Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy. “Expanding coverage of peer support services in community-based settings fills critical gaps in the health care system, empowering people to access effective, person-centered care that is close to home.”
This legislation expands on a provision led by Reps. Chu and Smith that was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 that recognizes peer support specialists in Medicare as part of interdisciplinary integrated care teams and mobile crisis teams.
The PEERS in Medicare Act is endorsed by Mental Health America, the National Association of Rural Health Clinics, the National Association of Rural Mental Health, Faces and Voices of Recovery, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.