Dear Division 55 Colleagues the follow Action Alert has been received from APAPO and as the Division Federal Advocacy Coordinator. I am asking that you follow the request for action by following the directions below and contacting both of you US Senators and US Representative concerning the effort to include psychologists under the Physician Definition under Medicare. This is most critical. Then when you complete the simple effort please email me back channel at
sandersg@bigplanet.com
Your back channel email is critical so that the division receives the proper credit with APAPO. Your back channel email permits me to track how many messages Division 55 members generated in this effort, please let me know your state and the name of the US Representative contacted, I will unless you indicate assume you contacted both US Senators.
The website listed below will enable you to send your letters in just a couple of moments, so please take action now!!!
http://capwiz.com/apapractice/issues/alert/?alertid=17359501.
This is most urgent -
Gil Sanders
Federal Advocacy Coordinator
APA Practice
Organization
Action Alert
X Urgent
X Action Required
Date: June 4, 2012
To: Division Federal Advocacy Coordinators
From: Marilyn Richmond, J.D., Assistant Executive Director for Government Relations American Psychological Association Practice Organization
Cc: Katherine Nordal, Ph.D., Executive Director for Professional Practice
SPTA Executive Directors, SPTA Directors of Professional Affairs and CAPP
Re: Take Action for Physician Definition Inclusion!
Outside interests are seeking to prevent psychologists from operating independent of inappropriate physician supervision and have been pushing back against legislation to include psychologists in the Medicare physician definition (HR 831 and S 483). This is despite bipartisan support and the fact that psychologists are the only Medicare providers required to have doctoral training who are still excluded from the definition.
The good news is that during this year's State Leadership Conference state and territorial delegations held more than 300 meetings with their members of Congress and staff, generating positive feedback about this important initiative. We need your help to turn these expressions of support into solid cosponsors. Your profession needs you to take action NOW to ask your legislators to cosponsor psychology's Medicare "physician" definition inclusion bills and end inappropriate physician supervision requirements that hinder the delivery of psychological services.
Take Action!
Click here to urge your Senators and Representative to cosponsor
the Medicare "physician" definition inclusion bill
If you are not able to reach the Legislative Action Center from the above link, please visit
http://capwiz.com/apapractice/issues/alert/?alertid=17359501.
Take action by Friday, June 15.
Grassroots feedback is also extremely important to our advocacy efforts, so we would very much appreciate it if you would e-mail or division Federal Advocacy Coordinator with any substantive responses you receive from your Representative or Senators.
Additional Background:
Congress Should Pass the Snowe and Schakowsky Bill
To Include Psychologists in Medicare's "Physician" Definition
Unnecessary physician supervision requirements in the Medicare program are hampering psychologists from providing to Medicare patients their full range of services within state licensure. Congress should pass the bill by Sen. Snowe (S. 483) and Rep. Schakowsky (H.R. 831) to include psychologists in the Medicare "physician" definition.
Psychologists are key Medicare mental health providers, delivering nearly half of the psychotherapy services to Medicare beneficiaries in the hospital outpatient setting and more than 70% of the psychotherapy services in the hospital inpatient, partial hospital, and residential care settings. Psychologists also provide the vast majority of mental health testing services, many of which are unique to their training and licensure.
The Medicare beneficiary population will explode in the coming decades. According to SAMHSA, individuals age 65 and older will comprise 20% of the country's population by 2030. This means increased demand for mental health treatment as the number of older adults with mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, and dementia, grows from 7 to15 million. Psychologists will take on a greater role in working with physicians and other Medicare providers to address co-morbid physical and mental/substance use disorders.
The Snowe and Schakowsky bill will allow psychologists to be treated like all other non-physician providers already included in the Medicare physician definition, thereby ending unnecessary physician supervision without increasing Medicare costs.
Psychologists provide critical care to beneficiaries in a range of Medicare settings, including the inpatient hospital, psychiatric hospital, hospital outpatient, partial hospital, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility, rural health clinic, federally qualified health center, and skilled nursing facility settings. Inclusion of psychologists in the physician definition will provide for a long-overdue reassessment of the services psychologists may provide within licensure without supervision.
In inpatient hospital and psychiatric hospital settings, this bill would enhance psychologists' ability to direct appropriate care for their patients. Psychologists are licensed to assess, diagnose and treat mental and substance use disorders and are already key providers in these settings, but they are often hindered by inappropriate physician supervision of services provided within their licensure. This overdue change would help clarify clinical oversight for hospital patients under the care of psychologists and reduce the administrative burden on hospital staff.
In outpatient hospital and community mental health center settings, Medicare patients who would otherwise need inpatient psychiatric care are provided partial hospital services. Psychologists can and do run partial hospital programs in the private health system today—overseeing, supervising and providing treatment—yet Medicare requires that such services must be prescribed by a physician, provided under a written treatment plan established and periodically reviewed by a physician, and furnished while under the care of a physician. If these physician barriers were removed, beneficiaries would have better access to partial hospital services they need.
An actuarial analysis of the Snowe and Schakowsky bill has determined that including psychologists in the Medicare physician definition will not increase Medicare claims costs. Psychologists already provide their services in settings throughout the program and sufficient provisions will remain in place to ensure that the services psychologists provide are medically necessary and appropriate.
Including psychologists in the Medicare physician definition does not make them physicians, but it does remove barriers to the services they provide.
Medicare's physician definition (1861(r) of the Social Security Act) already encompasses non-physician providers. Dentists, podiatrists, optometrists and chiropractors are included in the Medicare physician definition so that they may provide services to the full extent of their licensure.
Inclusion of psychologists would not reconstitute them as physicians or expand their scope of practice. Only state licensure law can do that. But as with the other non-physician providers in the definition, psychologists will be able to serve Medicare beneficiaries to the full extent of their licensure. In fact, psychologists are the only doctoral-trained Medicare providers of the health care practitioners not in the physician definition.
The Medicare program has fallen behind the private insurance market. Many insurers already define "physician" to include not only medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy, but also psychologists and other non-physicians currently in the Medicare physician definition, thereby permitting all of these professionals to provide their services within the full scope of their state licensure.
Including psychologists in the physician definition will particularly help Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas where psychiatrists are not available to provide supervision.
Based on a 2007 APAPO study prepared by the Center for Health Policy, Planning and Research at the University of New England, there are 2,943 psychiatrists in non-Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S.—a rate of 5.2 psychiatrists per 100,000 population. There are three times as many psychologists in these areas—8,867 psychologists or a rate of 15.7 psychologists per 100,000 population.
The lack of psychiatrists to supervise treatment in the various Medicare settings has stifled the development of mental health services delivery in rural areas. If, for example, a physician is not available to supervise partial hospital services in a rural area, then such services are not provided, even if needed by rural Medicare patients. Removing unnecessary physician supervision requirements will help remedy rural access to these mental health services. Psychologists will be able to provide partial hospital services within their licensure without unnecessary physician oversight while still working with physicians regarding medication and other services beyond their licensure.
Congress references the Medicare physician definition in enacting laws to improve beneficiary access to services. Since psychologists are not included, mental health services are too often left behind.
For example, Medicare "physicians," including chiropractors, optometrists and podiatrists, receive a 10% bonus payment for providing services in Health Professional Shortage Areas. By excluding psychologists, mental health services are mostly left out of bonus payments designed to improve Medicare beneficiary access in underserved areas. Also, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act provides for incentive payments to Medicare "physicians," including chiropractors, optometrists and podiatrists, when they adopt electronic medical records into their practices. With the exclusion of psychologists from these payments, mental health is essentially left out in the development of electronic medical records in the Medicare program.
---- Original Message ----
From: jcook@apa.org
To: jcook@apa.org
Subject: Action Alert! Take Action for Physician Definition Inclusion!
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2012 20:33:06 -0400
>Federal Advocacy Coordinators:
>
>We're ready for the next phase of our campaign to add cosponsors for
>psychology's Medicare physician definition inclusion bill. Please
>distribute today's Action Alert to mobilize broad-based grassroots
>support for this important initiative.
>
>Division Federal Advocacy Coordinators: Please distribute the
>attached action alert.
>
>I'll keep you posted on the response rates of psychologists across
>the country. Thanks very much!
>
>Best,
>
>Jeff
>
>Jeff Cook, J.D.
>Director of Field & State Operations
>American Psychological Association Practice Organization
>750 First Street, NE
>Washington, DC 20002
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