Advocating to improve health equity across the lifespan

On June 11, 2024, 70 member psychologists led over 170 meetings on Capitol Hill to advocate for policies to strengthen access to Medicare mental and behavioral health services, including telehealth services and services furnished via integrated care models. These participants represented 40 states and included APA Services’ federal advocacy coordinators (FACs) and federal education advocacy coordinators, APA past presidents, members of the APA Board of Directors, and members of the APA Services Advocacy Coordinating Committee. In their meetings, they urged their members of Congress to cosponsor three pieces of legislation:

• the Telemental Health Care Access Act (H.R. 3432/S. 3651)(PDF, 59KB)opens in new window, which would repeal a Medicare requirement that patients must be seen in-person for continued coverage of their telehealth services;
• the Increasing Mental Health Options (IMHO) Act (H.R. 8458/S.669)(PDF, 928KB)opens in new window, which would increase Medicare beneficiaries’ access to mental health care by removing outdated Medicare requirements for physician oversight and referral for services provided by psychologists; and
• the COMPLETE Care Act (H.R. 5819/S. 1378)(PDF, 65KB)opens in new window, which would increase access to mental and behavioral health services by adopting a “model-neutral” approach to assisting practitioners with adoption of integrated care.

To prepare for their Hill meetings, participants gathered on June 10 for an in-person briefing during which they learned about these bills and how they would increase access to mental and behavioral health care services. APA President Cynthia de las Fuentes, PhD, gave welcoming remarks, which were followed by a presentation from APA Chief Advocacy Officer Katherine B. McGuire, MSc, on the shifting political landscape and how to effectively advocate during an election year.

Panel Discussions

Throughout the training day, psychologists participated in a series of panel discussions from expert members, APA staff, and congressional staff. The first panel provided an overview of integrated primary and behavioral healthcare models and featured remarks from Molly Gabriel-Champine, PhD, who serves as the FAC for the Michigan Psychological Association, and Stephen Gillaspy, PhD, APA’s senior director of health and health care financing. They explained how integrated care models work in practice and the outcomes they provide for patients, the role of psychologists within integrated primary care practices, as well as the barriers that exist to implementing evidence-based models.

The second panel featured legislative insights from congressional staff. Grace Banfield, legislative director for Representative Dan Kildee (D-Michigan) and Megan Porter, legislative assistant for Representative Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) each conveyed their perspectives, as congressional staff members, as to how meetings with legislative staff should be conducted in terms of preparation, content, and structure. Banfield and Porter then took questions from the audience. 

The third panel of the day focused on state legislative perspectives on telehealth. Deborah Baker, JD, APA’s director, legal and regulatory policy, relayed to participants the current array of state telehealth policies, and ways in which some state legislatures are leading the charge on telehealth policy. Amy Beck, PhD, who serves as the FAC for the Missouri Psychological Association, then spoke about her experiences advocating for audio-only telehealth protections in Missouri.

Advocacy Training

In preparation for their meetings, participants were trained on the three legislative issues. APA Senior Legislative and Regulatory Counsel Andrew Strickland, JD, led the briefing on the Telemental Healthcare Access Act. This bill would repeal a Medicare requirement that patients must be seen in-person for continued coverage of their telehealth services and permanently allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive behavioral health services via telehealth from their own homes.

APA Senior Director for Congressional and Federal Relations, and Practice Lead Scott Barstow, MS, then briefed participants on the IMHO and the COMPLETE Care Act. IMHO would remove unnecessary barriers to accessing mental health care by amending the Medicare statute to allow psychologists meeting existing Medicare participation requirements to practice independently in all covered treatment settings. It would also make psychologists eligible for Medicare bonus payments for services provided in areas that are designated as Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, which are currently provided only for psychiatrists. The COMPLETE Care Act would encourage the adoption of integrated care by increasing Medicare reimbursement rates for behavioral health integration (BHI) services for 3 years, requiring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide technical assistance to primary care providers on integrated care, and establishing quality measurement reporting requirements for BHI for clinicians participating in Medicare alternative payment models.

Following the issue briefings, APA’s Deputy Chief of Public Policy and Engagement Stefanie Reeves, FASAE, CAE, led a presentation on how summit attendees can communicate effectively with members of Congress, including how to build rapport, develop and deliver a pitch, follow up with congressional offices after their meetings, and utilize social media to boost their message.

Awards

Throughout the day, awards were presented to congressional staff and members of Congress for their dedication to promoting mental health through their work.

McGuire presented the Friend of Psychology Award to Grace Banfield for her work to support APA’s psychology training programs in Michigan, as well as to secure Representative Kildee’s sponsorship of the COMPLETE Care Act. The same award was then presented to Megan Porter for her work to secure Representative Balderson’s primary sponsorship of the Telemental Health Care Access Act as well as supporting advanced psychology trainees through sponsoring the House version of the ADAPT Act.

Following the advocacy training, McGuire presented the Congressional Champion Award to two members of Congress who have prominently championed the goals of the discipline and profession of psychology. Representative Michelle Steel (R-California) and Representative Kildee were awarded for their work to increase access to behavioral health services through their sponsorship of the COMPLETE Care Act.