----- Original Message -----
From: "John Bird"
TO: Gene Douglas
Senate Bill Introduced; Cosponsors Needed December 5, 2001
Issue
Senate MFT Medicare recognition legislation, S. 1760, has been introduced and
calls, letters, e-mails, and meetings are needed to encourage Senator co-sponsorship.
Background
Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Craig Thomas (R-WY) introduced the Seniors
Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2001, S. 1760, on December 4, 2001.
The bill provides reimbursement for services provided by marriage and family
therapists (MFTs) and mental health counselors (MHCs) under Medicare Part B,
and in rural health clinics and hospices. It is now time to gather Senate cosponsors
of this legislation.
Action
Please call, write, and e-mail your Senators as soon as possible to request their
co-sponsorship of the bipartisan Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act
of 2001. We prepared a suggested message for you and encourage you to personalize
it as much as possible. The phone number for the Capitol Switchboard is (202)
224-3121; ask for your Senator by first and last name. When the operator connects
you to the Senator's office, ask to speak with the staff person that handles
health care issues.
You may e-mail your Senators by going directly to this site http://capwiz.com/aamft/issues/alert/?alertid=77563
or by accessing AAMFT's website (www.aamft.org). Log in to the Members Only
section and select the "Policy and Advocacy" link. Find and select the Legislative
Update on the Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2001 and follow
the instructions in the update for sending an e-mail, printing a letter, or finding
your Representative.
Message
As a constituent and marriage and family therapist in (name of the city where
you reside or practice), I urge you to co-sponsor the Lincoln/Thomas bill, S.
1760, entitled the Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2001. This
legislation takes the important step of increasing access to mental health services
under the Medicare program by recognizing state-licensed marriage and family
therapists and mental health counselors.
The Archives of General Psychiatry projects that the number of people over 65
years with psychiatric disorders will increase from about 4 million in 1970 to
15 million in 2030. It also indicates that the current health care system is
unprepared to meet the upcoming crisis in geriatric mental health. Authorizing
licensed marriage and family therapists to provide services under the Medicare
program will help meet the needs of this expanding population. In addition,
it will benefit Medicare beneficiaries by increasing access and choice in obtaining
mental health services. This increased access is particularly important in rural
areas where there is a severe shortage of mental health providers. I urge you
to take this opportunity to cosponsor S. 1760 and ensure all Medicare beneficiaries
have access to needed mental health services. Thank you for your support.
Please notify AAMFT of any action you take by sending an e-mail to John Bird,
Government Affairs Manager, at lga@aamft.org. Thank you for your efforts!
READ ON:
****
MFTS NEED TO CALL THE TOLL FREE NUMBER, 1-866-727-4894, TODAY AND URGE YOUR SENATORS
AND REPRESENTATIVES TO ADOPT FULL MENTAL HEALTH PARITY INTO LAW.
Issue:
With the sunset of the 1996 Mental Health Parity Act at the end of September,
Congress has begun consideration of full parity for mental health benefits under
S. 543, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001, (MHETA). On October
30, the Senate passed S. 543 as an amendment to H.R. 3061, the fiscal year 2002
appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and
Education. The legislation will expand on protections in the 1996 law that prevent
health plans from imposing terms and conditions on coverage for mental illness
treatment that do not apply to all other physical diseases. S. 543 is now part
of the negotiations between the House and Senate conferees of the Labor-HHS-Education
Appropriations bill (H.R. 3061), and its fate will be determined in the coming
days.
Action:
AAMFT urges MFTs to immediately call your Senators and Representatives to encourage
adoption of the MHETA into H.R. 3061, the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations
bill, without additional changes. If your Senator or Representative is one of
the Labor-HHS-Education conferees (see list below), please contact them as a
constituent. If not, please contact your legislators and urge them to contact
the conference members and encourage their support for the parity amendment.
A toll free number (1-866-PARITY4 / 1-866-727-4894) has been established by a
coalition of mental health advocacy groups to reach your Senators' or Representatives'
office. MFTs can provide your name or zip code to the Capitol Switchboard and
be referred to your legislators. WHEN YOU CALL, ASK TO SPEAK TO THE HEALTH LEGISLATIVE
ASSISTANT.
Suggested statement is:
As a constituent and mental health provider from (insert city and state), I urge
you to support the passage of the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001
as adopted in H.R. 3061, and oppose any amendment(s) to the language. Now is
the time to eliminate arbitrary limits on mental health benefits written into
many insurance policies, such as those that impose a maximum number of days or
visits per year or require higher out-of-pocket spending. Americans need and
should have full parity for mental health care and treatment.
Thank you very much for your efforts on this very important issue!
THE LABOR-HHS-EDUCATON CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE:
SENATORS:
Byrd (D-WV)
Cochran (R-MS)
Craig (R-ID)
DeWine (R-OH)
Gregg (R-NH)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hollings (D-SC)
Hutchinson (R-TX)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Murray (D-WA)
Reid (D-NV)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
REPRESENTATIVES
Cunningham (R-CA)
DeLauro (D-CT)
Granger (R-TX)
Hoyer (D-MD)
Istook (R-OK)
Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
Lowey (D-NY)
Miller (R-FL)
Northup (R-KY)
Obey (D-WI)
Pelosi (D-CA)
Peterson (R-PA)
Regula (R-OH)
Sherwood (R-PA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Young (R-FL)
John Bird, J.D.
Goverment Affairs Manager
lga@aamft.org
202-452-0109
*****
4/01 legislative alert:
Dear Mr. Douglas:
AAMFT is striving to get MFTs in federal legislation that will allow the profession
to practice in schools. We need help from MFTs throughout the country to convince
Members of Congress of the importance of MFT inclusion. Please take a few minutes
to read the attached alert and respond. With a little help from you, we can
truly make a difference for the profession.
Thanks.
Dave Bergman
Issue: MFTs need to contact your legislators immediately and urge their support
for inclusion of MFTs in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)!
Background: AAMFT and all divisions are striving to get marriage and family
therapists in the schools. To accomplish this objective, we are working to ensure
MFTs are included in the ESEA and other relevant school-based services legislation.
The ESEA has two programs that provide mental health services to students - the
Safe and Drug Free Schools and the School Counseling Demonstration. Currently,
MFTs are excluded from both programs. The ESEA is reauthorized every six years
and is being considered by Congress for reauthorization this year. Both the
House and Senate must be convinced of the need to include MFTs or we will miss
a great opportunity.
Action: MFTs need to fax, e-mail, write, or call your Representative and Senators
and urge them to include MFTs in the ESEA. Modify the attached letter to reflect
your desired message and mail it to your Representative and Senators. If you
don't know who your legislators are, use the AAMFT zip code locator in the "Policy
and Advocacy" section of the AAMFT website (www.aamft.org). This will allow
you to find your Members of Congress and link to a sample letter that you can
personalize and submit.
To phone your Representative or Senator, call the Capitol Operator at (202) 224-3121
and ask to be connected to your member of Congress by his or her name. Keep
your message short and to the point. Suggested statement is:
Hello, my name is (name) and I am a constituent and marriage and family therapist
from (city). I urge you to include marriage and family therapists in the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act. With the increase in school violence throughout
the country, it is crucial that school children have access to all qualified
providers. Marriage and family therapists are ideally suited for school settings.
We are uniquely trained to involve multiple parties in our treatment. This
allows for inclusion of students, parents, teachers, and administrators, which
has been shown to be the best method for helping students. It is critical that
school children have access to a profession with these dynamic skills. Please
make sure that MFTs are not left out of the ESEA. Thank you for your attention
in this important matter.
We would appreciate your sending an e-mail (dbergman@aamft.org) or faxed copy
(202-223-2329) of any correspondence to AAMFT, so we can keep track of the response
rate.
Please take the five minutes necessary to respond to this call to action. Thank
you for your assistance with this important issue.
***********************************************************
April 17, 2001
The Honorable xxxxxx
Dear Senator/Representative xxxxx:
As a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) who lives and practices in (city, state),
I am writing to request your support for inclusion of MFTs as providers of mental
health services in school systems. With the rising incidents of school violence,
and the Surgeon General's call for school-based psychological interventions,
it is critical that students have access to all qualified mental health professionals.
As Congress considers the reauthorization of the ESEA, I urge you to include
language recognizing MFTs as qualified providers of school-based mental health
services. Currently, neither the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program, the School
Counseling Demonstration program, nor other relevant provisions reference our
profession. These omissions result in many qualified MFTs being excluded from
positions providing mental health and prevention services to students.
MFTs are master's level mental health practitioners with two years post-graduate
supervised clinical experience. MFTs are licensed to diagnose and treat mental
and emotional disorders. In fact, marriage and family therapy is one of the
five core mental health disciplines recognized by the Health Resources Service
Administration. MFTs are trained to provide a systemic approach to treatment,
which allows for the involvement of multiple parties in therapy. This method
is ideally suited for a school environment where participation by the student,
parents, teachers, and administrators is strongly encouraged. Additionally,
countless studies have demonstrated that family-based interventions - in which
MFTs are uniquely required to receive training - are highly effective methods
of treatment for substance abuse and delinquency prevention.
[Please insert a paragraph explaining the services you provide to children -
specifically relating to substance abuse and delinquency prevention. If you
don't add any language here, delete this text]
As a legislator who is concerned with the needs of your constituents and their
children, I request your support in ensuring MFTs are eligible to provide psychological
services in the schools. Current law does not adequately meet the needs of today's
students by ensuring all qualified providers are able to deliver services. I
urge you to update this law and ensure our children receive the highest quality
care.
School children in (state) can benefit from services provided by MFTs. Failure
to change the law will leave countless students without access to an extremely
well trained and established discipline. It is important that MFTs are specifically
referenced in the ESEA, as broad provider language maintains the status quo of
exclusion. Please take this opportunity to include MFTs as qualified mental
health practitioners in the ESEA. Thank you for your consideration and please
feel free to contact me at (xxx) xxx-xxxx with any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Gene Douglas
*****
David M. Bergman, J.D.
AAMFT Government Affairs Manager
Office Building xxxxx
Washington, DC xxxxx
Goverment Affairs Manager
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
1133 15th Street, N.W.
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005-2710
(B) 202-467-5105
(F) 202-223-2329
E-mail: dbergman@aamft.org
Website: www.aamft.org