From the Practice Directorate

• Parity Bill Seeks to Close Loopholes in Current Federal Law
• President Signs Medicare Payment Increase Into Law
• VA Psychology Leadership Conference Is Set for April
• APA Nominee Is Chosen for Prestigious Primary Care Fellowship

Parity Bill Seeks to Close Loopholes in Current Federal Law

“The Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003” was introduced in Congress on February 27. The bill would close loopholes in the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 and help ensure greater parity in insurance coverage for health services. Group health plans of larger employers that offer mental health benefits would be prohibited from treating those benefits differently from medical and surgical benefits.

A principal bill sponsor, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), has enlisted the support of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) in pledging to push for passage of the parity legislation, named for the late Senator from Minnesota. Paul Wellstone was an ardent champion of mental health parity legislation and co-sponsor of earlier parity bills in the U.S. Senate.

Following is a statement about the mental health parity bill by APA Executive Director for Professional Practice Russ Newman, PhD, JD.

“Introduction of the Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003 marks another important step forward in the battle for nondiscriminatory mental health benefits coverage by closing all the loopholes in the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. The American Psychological Association applauds Senators Pete Domenici and Edward Kennedy and Representatives Jim Ramstad and Patrick Kennedy for their continued fight to provide parity coverage for mental health disorders.

“Having a mental health disorder can be as serious as having a heart attack or any other debilitating, life-threatening physical health disorder. With the passage of this bill, insurers may no longer arbitrarily limit the number of hospital days or outpatient treatment sessions, or use higher copayments or deductibles for people in need of mental health care.

“We have learned much in the past several years. The U.S. Surgeon General asserted in his landmark 1999 report that there is no scientific justification for treating mental and physical health differently. Yet the U.S. General Accounting Office found that 87 percent of health plans that technically comply with the Parity Act have evaded its spirit by replacing dollar limits with other arbitrary limits. All loopholes must be closed for all persons with mental disorders.

“Psychologists are gratified that the sponsors of this important legislation have pledged their full support to ending benefits discrimination. We look forward to working with them to pass this important legislation.”

President Signs Medicare Payment Increase Into Law

On February 20, President Bush signed into law an omnibus appropriations bill that includes changes to Medicare’s 2003 physician fee schedule. The result is that, instead of facing a 4.4 percent decrease in Medicare payments, health professionals including psychologists can expect to see their Medicare payments increase by approximately 1.6 percent for services provided on or after March 1, 2003.

VA Psychology Leadership Conference Is Set for April

The sixth annual “VA Psychology Leadership Conference,” jointly sponsored by the APA Practice Directorate and the Association of Veterans Affairs Psychologist Leaders (AVAPL), takes place April 3-6 in Denver. The theme of this year’s conference is “Added Value and Expanding Roles of VA Psychologists.” A number of key leaders from the Department of Veterans Affairs, APA, and Capitol Hill are scheduled to address participants about issues affecting VA health care and psychological practice. Look for coverage last this year in the APA Monitor on Psychology.

APA Nominee Is Chosen for Prestigious Primary Care Fellowship

For the sixth year in a row, APA’s nominee was selected to participate in a prestigious primary health care policy fellowship sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Participants from a variety of organizations and institutions are provided an intensive, six-month curriculum in the development and implementation of primary care policy, programs, and legislation. The APA-nominated participant, Scott Meit, PsyD, is Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the West Virginia University School of Medicine.