Legislative & Legal Advocacy at APAPO
The APA Practice Organization promotes the interests of psychologists and consumers of psychological services. The APAPO advances psychology through federal legislative, regulatory, and grassroots advocacy.
Congress Should Enact a Mental Health Parity Bill This Year
by Government Relations Office
A strong push is needed to pass a mental health parity bill into law this year. The Senate has passed a strong bill, and the House has now passed a similar bill, but time is short. Please urge negotiations now between the House and Senate so that mental health partiy can become law this year.
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Congress Should Restore Medicare Mental Health Services Cuts
by Government Relations Office
To protect mental health benefits that Medicare patients receive, Congress should extend for two years the restoration of reimbursement cut from psychologists' and social workers' services and also make psychologists eligible for E&M reimbursement for the services they provide within their licensure.
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Medicare Should Acknowledge the Evaluation and Management Services Already Being Provided by Clinical Psychologists
by Government Relations Office
Evaluation and management (E/M) services account for a broad range of office-based and inpatient visits. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), E/M services are medical in nature and therefore may not be furnished by psychologists or social workers. CMS's view, however, is outdated and does not reflect how widely psychology is now integrated with total patient health care. More and more of the work done by psychologists includes E/M services, especially in rural areas where patients being treated with psychotherapy may also be taking psychotropic medications prescribed by their primary care physicians.
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Congress Should Protect Patient Records Privacy in HIT Legislation
by Government Relations Office
Congress should ensure that patient records privacy and security is a cornerstone of any legislation that promotes the development of health information technology (HIT) in the health care system.
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The APA Practice Organization Expresses Concerns about Medical Home Demo Expansion
by Government Relations Staff
APA Practice Organization, along with other non-physician provider associations, sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee Leadership expressing concern about expansion of the medical home model demonstration project in the Medicare program.
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Medicare Should Reimburse Hospitals for Psychology Training
by Government Relations Office
Psychologists are currently ineligible for Medicare training reimbursement. While physicians and at least 19 allied health care professionals are eligible for Medicare training dollars, psychologists are not but should receive funding. In fact, psychologists are the only doctoral-level providers excluded from training reimbursement. Congress should provide Medicare reimbursement to hospitals for psychology internship training programs to preserve high quality patient care.
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Support Continued Funding for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act
by Government Relations Office
Congress should continue funding for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) for FY 2009. Senators Domenici (R-NM) and Leahy (D-VT) and Representatives Delahunt (D-MA) and Ramstad (R-MN) are circulating appropriations support letters to ask for continued and hopefully increased funding for FY 2009.
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