WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association applauded passage of federal legislation to prevent substantial Medicare reimbursement cuts from taking effect next year, and to promote mental health programs aimed at supporting health care workers.
Psychologists and other health care providers had faced millions of dollars in Medicare payment losses starting next year due to the combined effects of three separate, coinciding budget cuts to the program.
“These cuts would have reduced access to needed services for people who need services now more than ever. We are grateful Congress acted against these proposed cuts that would have put Medicare beneficiaries in peril, people who are older, more isolated and experiencing significant levels of stress due to the COVID-19 health emergency,” said APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD. “The COVID-19 pandemic has been taking a heavy toll on the nation’s mental health, with psychologists reporting large increases in demand for treatment of anxiety and depression compared with last year, and increased workloads and longer waitlists than before the pandemic.”
The Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act would largely eliminate cuts triggered by Medicare coding structure changes adversely affecting psychologists and would delay the application of other automatic reductions scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.
“The job isn’t done, but this is a good first step to addressing the crisis,” Evans said. “We hope to continue working with members of Congress in the new year to remove the threat of payment cuts to providers of critical services.”
APA also applauded passage of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, named for a Virginia physician who died by suicide while struggling to care for patients in the early days of the pandemic. The bill includes several provisions to improve the mental health and resilience of health care professionals, including the development and dissemination of evidence-based and -informed practices for preventing suicide and improving mental health and resiliency.
“COVID is showing us that no one is immune to stress,” Evans said. “Psychologists and other frontline providers are experiencing extreme stress, so it’s imperative that effective services and supports are available, both during the public health emergency and beyond.”
President Biden is expected to sign the legislation.