Gaining Psychology Interns Eligibility for Medicare Payments to Hospitals

The Senate Finance Committee’s Transforming the Health Care Delivery System: Proposals to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Health Care Costs (April 29, 2009) contains in its section on workforce a proposal to develop a national workforce strategy with the establishment of a National Health Workforce Commission that would include representation by a psychologist. The inclusion of a psychologist was a hard fought victory by the APA Education Government Relations Office (GRO).

The Commission is described in detail in S. 790, the Health Access and Health Professions Supply Act (HAHPSA) of 2009, introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), a Member of both the Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees. The Commission would have significant input into the design, revision, and implementation of federal programs, grants and regulations related to the nation’s health workforce. The 20 member Commission would be appointed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Comptroller General and staffed by relevant federal agencies, as well as outside stakeholders including but not limited to rural and urban healthcare providers, national and specialty physicians, health professional organizations and accrediting entities, health professional education institutions, teaching hospitals, community health centers, health insurers, business and labor.