36 Texas Organizations Petition HHSC to Study and Update YES Waiver Children's Mental-Health Rates — 397 Providers Lost Since 2019

On June 15, 2026, 36 Texas organizations sent a letter to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission asking the agency to study Medicaid reimbursement rates for the YES (Youth Empowerment Services) Waiver — the program that lets children with serious mental-health needs receive intensive community-based services — and update the rates accordingly (Texans Care for Children).

The letter documents a hollowing provider network: the YES Waiver has lost 397 providers since the end of 2019; specialized therapy rates have not been updated since the program began in 2009, and family and community-based living support rates were last updated in 2013. For Texas health centers, the shrinking YES network thins the specialty referral options behind their pediatric behavioral-health panels.