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The National Voice of Clinical Social Work 

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Legislative Alerts

Under the direction of CSWA's Director of Policy and Practice and Government Relations Chair, Laura Groshong, CSWA is proud to vigilantly monitor all current national legislation that affects clinical social workers and the need for action with members of Congress. In addition, CSWA regularly provides alerts to inform its members about important and relevant legislation and regulations that have been introduced at the national level. The list of Legislative Alerts listed below allows members to review the history of CSWA's action on national bills in Congress, and the outcomes of those actions.

  • July 06, 2016 4:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Dear CSWA Members,

    Thanks to all the many CSWA members who sent their emails to their Representatives.

    Today the House of Representatives passed HR 2646 by an overwhelming majority of 422-2! 

    Please send the following message to your Representative, even if you did not ask your Representative to vote in favor of the bill:
    “I am a member of the Clinical Social Work Association and a constituent.  Thank you so much for voting in favor of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016 which will improve access to mental health services for our citizens. [Name, License, Address, email]” 

    You can find your Representative's email at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ ; .

    Now we will wait to see what happens with the Senate bill and hopefully have a compromise committee to combine the best of both bills.


  • July 01, 2016 4:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Dear CSWA Members,

    On June 15th, HR 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016, a bill that CSWA has been following for the past three years, unanimously passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

    This bill will be voted on by the whole House of Representatives next Tuesday, July 5.  Please email your representative as soon as possible.  It is very important to support this bill which will increase funding for many parts of the mental health system, create an Assistant Secretary of Mental Health in DHHS, and create a Minority Fellowship Program.  While there are other parts of the bill that CSWA would like to modify, getting the bill passed out of the House so that we can continue the discussion is crucial at the moment. The Senate mental health bill has also been passed out of committee and needs to be passed out of the Senate, but is not yet scheduled.  To get the Senate bill scheduled, the House bill must pass.

    You can find the email address of your Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ . Please send the following message to your Representative: “I am a member of the Clinical Social Work Association and a Constituent.  Please vote for passage of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016 on July 5 and improve access to mental health services for our citizens. [Name, License, Address, email]”

    As always, please let me know when you have emailed your message.


  • April 20, 2016 9:03 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Dear CSWA Members,

    CSWA received this message from the Association of Social Work Boards today and has requested that we send it to members.  To summarize, ASWB does a practice review of social work every 7-10 years and is beginning one now.  Approximately 250,000 of the 600,000 social workers in the country will receive a copy of the survey on social work practice.  Please participate if you receive this survey.

    Below is the message:

    I am writing on behalf of the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) to let you know that ASWB has launched its latest practice analysis of social work, the study of current social work practice that serves as the foundation for content included in the ASWB social work licensure examinations. Conducted every seven to ten years, the practice analysis begins with a survey of licensed social workers in the United States and Canada. The survey is designed to gather information about the knowledge and skills needed by those in the social work profession. It was sent to more than 250,000 licensed social workers, including social work practitioners and educators, earlier this month.

    We are contacting your organization to let you know what was happening and to encourage you to  forward to ASWB any questions or concerns you might receive from your members about the survey.  

    To explain more fully, the survey requires social workers to respond to statements about tasks that social workers perform (or do not perform) or about the knowledge that social workers need to perform those tasks safely and competently. All responses are confidential and will be combined with those from other social workers responding to the survey. Additional information on the process—including the results of the last practice analysis conducted by ASWB—may be found at www.aswb.org.  

    ASWB remains committed to producing a valid and reliable social work licensing examination, and we are excited about the next chapter in its development. We look forward to the responses from the practice analysis survey.

    Thank you for your commitment to our profession and the public it serves.

    Lavina G. Harless, LCSW
    Examination Development Manager
    Association of Social Work Boards


  • April 11, 2016 2:47 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Dear CSWA Members,

    The attached "Statement on Discrimination” is CSWA’s way of addressing the appalling legislative attempts in several states to create laws that implement discrimination against LGBT citizens. While only four states have passed legislation – North Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia – have actually passed such legislation, there are several other states considering doing so.

    As stated in the CSWA Code of Ethics, “Clinical social workers do not, in any of their capacities, practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, or physical or emotional disability. (CSWA Code of Ethics, Section VI(a), 1997.)” It is with these fundamental values in mind that CSWA encourages its members to take a stand against discrimination in any form. 

    If you live in one of the states that has passed a discriminatory law, please send the following message to your state and Federal legislators: “I am a member of the Clinical Social Work Association [and your state Society] which strongly opposes any laws which are based on discrimination. [Bill/Law in your state] is extremely discriminatory of our LGBT citizens and should be removed from [our laws/consideration] in our state. This law is a violation of my Code of Ethics as a clinical social worker and our national Bill of Rights.”

     You can find the addresses for your members of Congress at https://www.congress.gov/members  State legislators can be found at your state government websites.

    As always, please let me know when you have sent any messages.

    Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director, Policy and Practice


  • March 17, 2016 9:59 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Dear CSWA Affiliated Society Members,

        Yesterday the HELP Committee (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) passed S. 2680, the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016. CSWA sent a summary of this bill last week and is in support.  The bill was introduced by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Chris Murphy (D-CT), this bipartisan legislation provides vital reforms to mental health funding to increase patients’ access to effective and evidence-based care particularly focused to those with serious mental illness (SMI).  

        S. 2680 incorporates and builds upon S. 1945, the bill created last year by Sens. Murphy and Cassidy. Here is a summary of the bill:

    • Supporting SAMHSA by establishing a new Inter-Departmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee.
    • Creating an Assistant Secretary of Mental Health position to give mental health a higher administrative level.
    • Significantly improving grant programs promoting integration of primary and behavioral health care.
    • Clarifying disclosure of protected health information (PHI) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and requirements for communication between providers, patients, and families.

        There is more work to do but this is a significant step forward.  Clinical social workers are included in S. 2680 as covered providers several times, as they were in the House bill H.R.1945 in 2014 after CSWA, with NASW’s support, first raised the issue of including LCSWs.  Whatever bill emerges from the mental health bills being considered by Congress, the place of clinical social workers appears secure.


    Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director, Policy and Practice



  • March 08, 2016 7:30 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    There is a flurry of activity in Congress this week about how to finally provide treatment for mental health and substance abuse disorders which have plagued the country for many years and have reached a crisis point.

    The Senate voted 86-3 yesterday to advance the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, S. 524/H.R. 953, (CARA, http://www.addictionpolicy.org/#!cara/cix2), which would allow the attorney general to give money to programs that strengthen prescription drug monitoring, improve treatment for addicts, and expand prevention and education initiatives. There are many amendments still to be voted upon. A vote on final passage of the bill is expected later this week. 

    The bill, introduced by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, has not yet been taken up by the House. An identical bill has been offered in that chamber by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.

    Drug overdose has surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Opioid addiction is driving the epidemic, with nearly 19,000 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers and nearly 10,600 overdose deaths related to heroin in 2014. The rate of heroin overdose deaths nearly quadrupled from 2000 to 2013 as many prescription drug abusers turned to heroin as a cheaper alternative that is easier to obtain, the society said.

    The main objection to this bill is that tasking the attorney general with distributing the treatment, prevention, monitoring and education programs the bill contains is not the best way to determine what funding is needed; that the attorney general does not have the $600 million that will be needed to implement this bill; and that this ties the bill to law enforcement instead of treatment.  Senate leadership has claimed that earlier block grant funding can be used by states that choose to follow through on this bill.  CSWA sees this bill as unfunded, well-intentioned as it is, and will work to find the roughly $600 million the bill will require to implement.

    Another bill called the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 is being developed by Sens. Murray (D-WA), Murphy (D-CT), Alexander (R-TN), and Cassidy (R-LA).  The hope is that this bill will include much of the bill developed by Sens. Murphy and Cassidy, S. 1945, as well as incorporate strengthening SAMHSA, and integrate programs designed to address the substance abuse problems which have been receiving the bulk of attention this week.

    CSWA will continue to provide information on how these bills evolve and work to fund them adequately.


  • March 01, 2016 1:34 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    March 1, 2016

    Good morning and welcome.  My name is Margot Aronson, and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.  LCSWs are the backbone of our country’s mental health treatment system.  We are responsible for close to half of clinical services provided in the USA:  assessment and diagnosis, psychotherapy, case management, and more, in clinics, hospitals, group and private practice.  

    I am speaking today for the Clinical Social Work Association, which represents the interests of the 240,000 LCSWs in the US.  Our Association has a strong advocacy program with a focus on mental health issues at the national level and on professional practice issues.  The bill we’re discussing today – H.R. 3712 /S. 2173, the Improving Access to Mental Health Treatment Act – cuts across both those areas of interest.

    This bill addresses problems Medicare beneficiaries have in obtaining mental health care.  As you know, Medicare - our federal insurance program – provides health insurance to Americans over 65, and also to younger people with disabilities or ALS or end-stage renal disease, through Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).   Overall, Medicare serves about 50 million Americans.

    According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), nearly 1 in 3 seniors do not receive treatment for an ongoing mental health condition.  Seniors may be in distress or in crisis with issues of aging such as:  loss of vision, hearing, mobility; with a diagnosis of major illness or Alzheimer’s; with the cognitive impairment – or death - of a life partner; with painful end-of-life decisions. Addiction to prescription medication and/or alcohol is at epidemic levels for the elderly.  And in fact, substance misuse is often a factor with the younger beneficiaries, who may be dealing with debilitating depression, with an anxiety disorder, with serious mental illness, with PTSD.     

    Licensed clinical social workers, along with psychologists and psychiatrists, are the only providers of mental health services for Medicare beneficiaries.  Surveys generally find that our LCSW treatment success and satisfaction rates - for the services provided by all three groups - are at least equal to those of our psychology and psychiatry colleagues (Consumer Reports, 2004, 2010). 

      CSWA spoke with leadership at CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) last summer. CMS is the oversight agency for Medicare.  They told us that they need LCSWs to help the vast and rapidly expanding numbers of Medicare beneficiaries (10,000 a day for the past two years). 

    Increasingly, however, LCSWs are saying that they cannot continue to work in the Medicare system because the current rates are so low that they cannot sustain their practices (25% less than other mental health providers for the same services). It is this disparity that The Improving Access bill seeks to begin to correct.

    Part I of the Improving Access to Mental Health Act would increase Medicare reimbursement for LCSW services from 75% to 85% of the physician fee schedule rate.

    While the bill will not totally resolve this problem, it is a start.  The increase will bring clinical social workers up to parity with other non-physician Medicare providers – turns out we’re now the only profession at 75%.  We believe that this modest financial boost, combined with the gesture of support from Congress, will go far in encouraging LCSWs to become Medicare providers.  

    Let me just make a quick comment about the discrepancy in pay for the same services with the same success rate:  as you might expect, it is the cause of considerable resentment; and the legislative staffers we’ve met with have themselves identified and expressed concern about the fairness issue; in addition there is the fairness issue to women, as social work is primarily a female profession.

    Part 2 of the bill increases access to LCSW services in skilled nursing facilities.

    Since 1997, LCSWs have not been permitted as independent practitioners to provide treatment to patients in skilled nursing facilities, commonly called SNFs. What this restriction means in practice is that treatment gets derailed for the client who temporarily moves into a SNF because of an illness, or the need for rehab, or to recover from surgery. Sometimes the move is the beginning of what will be a major life change: such a patient may be feeling despair, but an independent LCSW cannot be made available to him to do a timely depression assessment or to provide therapy. This is especially painful for beneficiaries who have had an ongoing relationship with an LCSW that is interrupted while the client in a SNF. This would restore the ability of LCSWs to work within SNFs independently.      

    Finally, Part 3 of this bill eliminates Medicare restrictions on the right of LCSWs to do Health and Behavior Assessment and Intervention services (HBAI), helping clients cope with the social and emotional issues stemming from  medical conditions (cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or Alzheimer’s, for example).  HBAI services are well within the LCSW scope of practice, and our holistic, person-in-environment framework, bringing to bear biological, psychological, social and family elements, is especially relevant in the skilled nursing setting and wherever substance abuse may be an issue. 

    To summarize, the Improving Access to Mental Health Treatment Act is a clear, simple, practical bill. Here are its three straight-forward parts:  

    HR 3712/S 2173 WILL IMPROVE ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH MEDICARE BY:

    • Make it possible for LCSWs to do what they believe is work that they SHOULD be doing – in the service of the public – while earning a fair wage
    • Allow LCSWs to support longtime clients and others who have moved into skilled nursing care, rather than abandon them when they are most helpless and needy
    • Letting LCSWs help Medicare beneficiaries cope with emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial concerns associated with substance use and medical conditions

    We know that the elderly have a significant percentage of undiagnosed and untreated mental health conditions, and that limited access to mental health providers presents a major barrier to their overall health, leaving them at risk. This bill takes very practical steps to improving their access to mental health treatment; it is a significant bill.  Thank you.


  • February 11, 2016 10:42 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    New Legislation is Next Step to Funding Quality Mental Health Care Nationwide

    Tuesday, February 09, 2016


    Source: http://www.stabenow.senate.gov/news/senators-stabenow-blunt-introduce-bill-to-expand-funding-for-community-mental-health-services

    U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced a bill to significantly increase funding for the program they championed to expand community mental health and substance abuse services the country. The Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act will ensure that all 24 states awarded mental health planning grants through an initiative based on Sens. Stabenow and Blunt’s Excellence in Mental Health Act can be funded. While the original law limited funding to eight states, President Obama today announced additional funding in his budget to expand the program to 14 states. 

    24 states, including Michigan and Missouri, were selected in October to work with interested community mental health centers, Federally-Qualified Health Centers, VA clinics, and other mental health organizations to design a state program that meets the new quality standards for Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers. Under current law, eight of these 24 states will be selected to receive full funding for comprehensive community behavioral health services. The Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act will fund community mental health services for all 24 states, which is an important next step toward fully funding quality mental and behavioral health services nationwide. 

    “Fully funding the Excellence in Mental Health Act is critical to making sure communities across the country have the resources they need to improve the lives of everyone living with mental illness and addictions” said Senator Stabenow.  “I appreciate the President’s call for an expansion of community mental health and substance abuse services in the budget, and our bill is an opportunity to take that another step further. Each and every state that came forward with a plan to increase access to community behavioral health services should be allowed to move forward immediately.”

    “One in four adult Americans have a behavioral health issue that is both diagnosable and treatable.  Unfortunately, those coping with a mental health issue and their families are too often confronted with a health care system that is unable to provide the access and quality of care they need,” said Senator Blunt. “The Excellence in Mental Health Act was a critical step toward improving and expanding access to behavioral health services. The legislation we are introducing today will build upon that law, and take us even further toward our goal of bringing behavioral health care in line with the way other illnesses are treated.”

    “This legislation is a critical step forward in making mental health and addiction care available to every American in need,” said Linda Rosenberg, President & CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health. “The Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act will expand Americans' access to lifesaving mental health and addiction care, while supporting providers with the resources to not only immediately help each individual who walks into a clinic, but to also coordinate their behavioral and physical health needs. Every state that is working to transform its care delivery system deserves to be able to do so. The National Council pledges to continue working with Senators Debbie Stabenow and Roy Blunt to ensure that all 24 states have the opportunity to implement Excellence Act resources.”

    “Since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School that took the life of my sweet little son, Daniel, we at Sandy Hook Promise have advocated for the expansion of critical mental health services so that more people can have access to high quality, integrated mental health care, and those who are in crisis can get help before anyone gets hurt,” said Mark Barden, Advocacy Director at Sandy Hook Promise.  “TheExpand Excellence in Mental Health Act is an important step toward providing effective, quality mental health care nationwide. These grants will undoubtedly save lives and we are grateful to Senators Stabenow and Blunt for their leadership and tireless advocacy.”

    “The Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act will transform behavioral health care in this country, driving a fragmented and underfunded system to one with expanded access to evidence-based treatments, integrated healthcare, and accountability,” said Brent McGinty, President & CEO, Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare. “Missouri's behavioral health community applauds Senators Blunt and Stabenow for being true mental health champions.”

    “Our sheriff’s office is currently the gateway for the County’s mental health system, and caring for individuals with mental illness without the proper resources continues to be a growing challenge,” said Gene Wriggelsworth, Ingham County, Michigan Sheriff. “I have worked with Senator Stabenow to strengthen community mental health services in Ingham County for decades and appreciate her leadership to help law enforcement address this challenge and ensure patients across the nation get the care they need.”

    Senators Stabenow and Blunt first introduced the Excellence in Mental Health Act in February 2013 to put community mental health centers on an equal footing with other health centers by improving quality standards and fully-funding community services and offering patients increased services like 24-hour crisis psychiatric care, counseling and integrated services for mental illness. The bill was signed into law by President Obama in 2014 and is one of the most significant steps forward in community mental health funding in decades.

    The Expand Excellence in Mental Health Act is supported by over 50 mental health organizations including: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, American Psychological Association, Clinical Social Work Association, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, Eating Disorders Coalition, Mental Health America, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Council for Behavioral Health, Sandy Hook Promise, among many others.

  • January 05, 2016 2:31 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    [This document clarifies the ways that LCSWs work with Medicare beneficiaries. ]

    Opt-in and Opt-out

    Medicare opt-in and opt-out status for LCSWs has been a source of confusion.  Previously, CSWA had been informed that all LCSWs needed to opt-in or opt-out of Medicare.  This was an error.  There is no requirement to opt-in as a Medicare provider if an LCSW chooses not to work with Medicare beneficiaries.  LCSWS must opt-in if they wish to be paid through Medicare.

    LCSWs must, however, opt-out if they want to work with Medicare beneficiaries who pay the LCSW privately.  This requires a signed contract with each beneficiary the LCSW treats that confirms neither the LCSW or the beneficiary will submit any claims to Medicare for the psychotherapy services that provided.  CSWA has a template which can be used for this purpose and an opt-out letter as well which should both be sent to your regional Medicare Administrative Center (MAC) if you choose to opt-out.  A beneficiary may have a private contract with an LCSW while maintaining Medicare coverage with other providers if they so choose.

    A good Medicare summary document can be found at  https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE1311.pdf

    CSWA has templates for private contracts with Medicare enrollees and to opt-out of Medicare in the Members Only section of the CSWA website (www.clinicalsocialworkassociation.org) .

    Assignment

    If an LCSW decides to opt-in, the LCSW accepts “assignment” of all Medicare cases who seek treatment.  If an LCSW chooses to refer a beneficiary who seeks treatment, a referral and reason for the referral should be documented. The Medicare terminology for this category is participating (“par”).  There is another category for other providers, non-participating (“non-par”) which does not apply to LCSWs. 

    Another form of assignment is “incident to” the services of physicians, psychologists, nurse-practitioners, or physician assistants.

    Medicare Mental Health Care (outpatient)

    Here is a summary of what Medicare currently covers taken from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/outpatient-mental-health-care.html

    Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance)covers mental health services and visits with these types of health professionals: 

    • Psychiatrist or other doctor
    • Clinical psychologist
    • Clinical social worker
    • Clinical nurse specialist
    • Nurse practitioner
    • Physician assistant

    Medicare only covers these visits, often called counseling or therapy, when they’re provided by a health care provider who accepts ">assignment[all LCSWs.]

    Part B covers outpatient mental health services, including services that are usually provided outside a hospital (like in a clinic, doctor’s office, or therapist’s office) and services provided in a hospital’s outpatient department. Part B also covers outpatient mental health services for treatment of inappropriate alcohol and drug use. Part B helps pay for these covered outpatient services:

    • One depression screening per year. The screening must be done in a primary care doctor’s office or primary care clinic that can provide follow-up treatment and referrals.
    • Individual and group psychotherapy with doctors or certain other licensed professionals allowed by the state where beneficiary gets the services [includes all LCSWs.]
    • Family counseling, if the main purpose is to help with individual beneficiary treatment.
    • Psychiatric evaluation.
    • Medication management.
    • Diagnostic tests.
    • A yearly “Wellness” visit. This is a good time to talk to a doctor or other mental health care provider about changes in the beneficiary’s mental health so they can evaluate changes from year to year.

    All people with Part B are covered.

    Costs in Original Medicare

    • You pay nothing for your yearly depression screening if your doctor or health care provider accepts assignment [includes all LCSWs.]
    • 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for visits to a doctor or other ">health care provider to diagnose or treat your condition. The Part B ">deductible applies.
    • If you get your services in a hospital outpatient clinic or hospital outpatient department, you may have to pay an additional copayment or ">coinsurance amount to the hospital. This amount will vary depending on the service provided, but will be between 20-40% of the Medicare-approved amount.

    Telehealth Services

    • Medicare pays for a limited number of Part B services furnished by a physician or practitioner to an eligible beneficiary via telehealth.  This includes certain mental health services (e.g., individual psychotherapy and pharmacologic management, behavior assessment and intervention, psychiatric diagnostic interview exam, annual depression screening, psychoanalysis, family psychotherapy) as well as a number of specific behavioral health and substance abuse disorder services (e.g., smoking cessation services, alcohol and/or substance abuse structured assessment and intervention services, annual alcohol misuse screening, brief face-to-face behavioral counseling for alcohol misuse)
    • To be eligible for telehealth services, the originating site (location of the beneficiary) must be in a rural health professional shortage area (HPSA) located either outside a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) or in a rural census tract; or a county outside of a MSA.

    LCSWs have concerns about non-mental health clinicians being allowed to provide psychotherapy or make mental health diagnostic assessments, which CMS allows. CSWA continues to work with CMS on the problems with untrained mental health clinicians providing these services.

    Summary

    LCSWs do not need to opt-in or opt-out of Medicare.  If an LCSW wishes to be paid through Medicare, the LCSW must opt-in as a Medicare provider. All LCSWs are expected to accept assignment of any Medicare beneficiary who needs mental health treatment unless there is a reason that the beneficiary needs to be referred.  If an LCSW wishes to be paid privately, the LCSW needs to opt-out of Medicare and have each beneficiary sign a contract agreeing to refrain from submitting any claims to Medicare for the LCSW’s services.    Telemental health services continue to be limited to rural areas with a shortage of mental health clinicians.

    Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director, Policy and Practice
    Clinical Social Work Association
    The National Voice of Clinical Social Work
    Strengthening IDENTITY | Preserving INTEGRITY | Advocating PARITY

     


  • December 16, 2015 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Dear CSWA Affiliated Society Members,

    Here is some information on the letters you may be getting from insurers asking for patient records. These requests are not the usual treatment review requests if they have the term “risk adjustment” as the reason for the request.  Most insurers are hiring an auditing firm to collect this information. Regence BlueShield is using AventMed, for example.  Here is why.

    When the Affordable Care Act was created, Federal regulators set up a Risk Adjustment Program to keep insurance plans with unhealthy patient populations competitive with plans with healthier populations for whom care is less expensive. The Risk Adjustment letters are the assessment of this goal. The first time insurers were required to ask for this information was in November, 2015.

    Some insurers are asking for the “full chart”, a statement that has created confusion. What is being requested is the Medical Record. As you know, if you do not limit the information you include in the Medical Record, you need to submit the whole record, even though it is likely to be far more information than the insurer wants.

    Though it is more work, it will provide much more confidentiality to patient information to have dual records, i.e., to have a Medical Record with basic information, treatment goals, and treatment progress and Psychotherapy Notes as the record of any detailed process notes.


    Below is a summary of what must be included in the Medical Record and cannot be shielded by Psychotherapy Notes.

    Medical Record Template – 12-11
    Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director, Government Relations

     From HIPAA Seven Years Later: The Impact on Mental Health Practice, Groshong, Myers, and Schoolcraft (2011, p. 17): According to HIPAA Rules, the Medical Record should include, as applicable:

    • Intake information;
    • Billing information;
    • Formal evaluations;
    • Notes of collateral contacts;
    • Records obtained from other providers;
    • Counseling sessions start and stop times;
    • The modalities and frequencies of treatment furnished;
    • Medication prescribed, if known;
    • Any summary of diagnosis, functional status, treatment plan, symptoms, prognosis, and
    • Progress to date.

    Outcome tools may be required in the future to document progress in mental health treatment.

    Psychotherapy Notes: If dual records are kept of the Medical Record and Psychotherapy Notes, i.e., process notes, the process notes are not part of the Medical Record. If there is one record, process note are included in the Medical Record.

    I hope this helps in your responses to these risk adjustment requests.

PO Box 105
Granville, Ohio  43023

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