HHS Launches Action Plan to Promote “Appropriate Psychiatric Prescribing”
Key Takeaways
- SAMHSA will analyze prescribing trends and run clinician webinars on adverse effects, deprescribing methods, and evidence-based nonmedication treatments, alongside an HRSA-linked session for FQHC providers.
- HHS will convene a July Technical Expert Panel to inform clinical guidance on psychiatric medication initiation, tapering, and discontinuation with multisector stakeholder input.
HHS rolls out a plan to curb psychiatric overprescribing, pushing deprescribing guidance as APA and AFSP urge caution and access to care.
At a MAHA Institute summit on mental health, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to curb “psychiatric overprescribing.” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. shared details of a new action plan to promote appropriate psychiatric prescribing and encourage deprescribing when clinically indicated.1
“Today, we take clear and decisive action to confront our nation’s mental health crisis by addressing the overuse of psychiatric medications—especially among children,” said Kennedy. “We will support patient autonomy, require informed consent and shared decision-making, and shift the standard of care toward prevention, transparency, and a more holistic approach to mental health.”1
These plans include:
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will issue a report on prescribing trends to inform efforts to reduce inappropriate prescribing.
- In June and July, SAMHSA will host educational webinars for prescribers and clinicians to increase awareness of (1) adverse effects of psychiatric medications, (2) approaches for deprescribing, and (3) evidence-based nonmedication treatments.
- Over the summer, SAMHSA and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will host a joint webinar for Federally Qualified Health Center providers focused on holistic care.
- In July, the HHS will convene a Technical Expert Panel to gather input from health professionals, patients and family, government agencies, and professional societies to inform the development of formal HHS clinical guidance on the use, tapering, and discontinuation of psychiatric medications.
In response, the American Psychiatric Association issued a statement of their own, sharing that while they support efforts to improve the quality, safety, and evidence base of mental health treatment, they definitively object to the HHS’s framing of the nation’s mental health crisis as primarily a problem of overprescribing.
“That characterization oversimplifies a complex crisis and ignores the larger reality: too many patients cannot access timely, comprehensive care, while care remains unevenly distributed across our health system. It also fails to account for persistent workforce shortages, limited psychiatric beds, inadequate visit time, barriers to psychotherapy and social supports, insufficient integration of psychiatric expertise in primary care through the Collaborative Care model, and the lack of a true continuum of care,” the statement reads. “Deprescribing alone is not a sufficient response to this crisis. In psychiatry, as in all areas of medicine, prescribing and deprescribing occur every day as part of individualized, evidence-based treatment planning between physicians and patients. The solution is not to stigmatize psychiatric medication or impose broad assumptions on clinical care, but to ensure that patients have access to the full range of evidence-based treatments and that decisions are guided by the best available science and each patient’s needs.”2
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also released guidance for physicians and clinicians on the importance of deprescribing, which clarifies how physicians and clinicians can be paid for this type of care under Medicare, and also supposedly directs clinicians to widely recognized resources for deprescribing, such as:
- Professional society guidelines
- Peer-reviewed deprescribing protocols
- The US Food and Drug Administration instructions for taper schedules
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) also weighed in on this decision with a statement from chief medical officer, Christine Yu Moutier, MD:
“Appropriate discontinuing of medications can play a role in high-quality care when guided by careful, individualized clinical assessment—such as when medications are ineffective, cause concerning side effects, or involve unnecessary use of multiple medications. However, abrupt discontinuation or inappropriate ‘deprescribing,' particularly outside a collaborative patient-provider process, can increase risk, including the potential for symptom relapse and elevated suicide risk for some individuals. Individualized and customized clinical assessment, patient-centered communication, and follow-up are essential to avoid unintended harm,” her statement reads.3
“The best psychiatric care comes from an adequately funding for the comprehensive toolkit of our knowledge and skills as our model of biological, psychological, and social variables all together indicate,” said H. Steven Moffic, MD, a Psychiatric Times board member. “Unfortunately, the decades of growing influence of for-profit business has put limits on what psychiatrists can do, causing a decrease in quality of care, and also an epidemic rate of burnout. On the other hand, psychiatry has also been lax in monitoring outcomes and passive in presenting our concerns. We need a national task force of experts to address this challenge.”
Psychiatric Times is currently speaking to leaders in the field of psychiatry about what this means for your clinical practice. We welcome you, as readers, to share your questions and concerns on this news. Send any communication to
References
1. HHS launches MAHA action plan to curb psychiatric overprescribing. HHS. News release. May 4, 2026. Accessed May 5, 2026.
2. APA welcomes national focus on mental health, urges evidence-based approach and continued focus on access to care. American Psychiatric Association. News release. May 4, 2026. Accessed May 5, 2026.
3. AFSP statement on the importance of antidepressants and evidence-based treatment for suicide prevention. AFSP. News release. May 5, 2026. Accessed May 5, 2026.
