Older Americans with mental health conditions face extraordinary policy turbulence characterized by substantial federal budget cuts, fundamental restructuring of key agencies, and widening state-by-state differences in behavioral health approaches. The landscape includes nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid reductions, the end of enhanced marketplace subsidies affecting millions of Americans, and a hollowed-out SAMHSA with half its former workforce. Simultaneously, critical debates unfold around mental health parity protections, administrative burden reduction, telehealth sustainability, and comprehensive health care reform. This report examines the major policy developments reshaping 2026 and offers practical guidance for older adult mental health advocacy organizations navigating these challenges.
Charting the Course of Artificial Intelligence, Mental Health, and Aging in America
By Mike O’Donnell, Chair, National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging When I started doing research on this topic, the media was buzzing with doomsday
NCMHA
November 1, 2026