Medicare will pay for mental health apps under new rule

Medicare regulators on Friday finalized rules to pay for some mental health apps, a breakthrough for digital therapy companies that have struggled to gain a foothold in the health care system.

The new rule creates codes that allow doctors to bill Medicare for providing the apps and related services to their patients. Starting Jan. 1, 2025, the codes will allow payment for mental health apps approved by the Food and Drug Administration under a specific arrangement that covers only a handful of treatments for conditions like depression and substance abuse.

The codes for the apps, which regulators call digital mental health devices, were first proposed for the 2025 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Physician Fee Schedule in July, and were finalized with some minor changes after comments from industry and the public .