YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED – PROTECT INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT FOR TEMPORARY LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS
Please see details at the bottom of this entry
Iowa Mental Health Counselors Association
Final Legislative Summary
May 11, 2018
Reflections on the 2018 Session:
Despite both chambers and the governor’s office being controlled by Republicans, the legislative session went into overtime. Differences over the depth of tax reform and how to shape the state’s budgert caused legislators to work through the month of April, finally adjourning on May 5.
Mental health was a big focus in this legislative session and numerous bills were enacted into law to expand services to address mental health concerns. And, IMHCA secured a significant victory in the enactment of legislation that creates different business opportunities for mental health counselors and other mental health professionals. Despite the simple nature of this bill, passing a bill is always harder than killing one!
HF 2300 – LLCs/PLCs: This bill allows licensed mental health counselors to form partnerships with each other or with licensed psychologists, marital and family therapists, or licensed independent social workers under the state’s limited liability statute as well as the professional corporation statute. The bill was signed into law on April 2 and becomes effective on July 1.
HF 2305 – telehealth: This bill requires insurance companies regulated by the state to treat health care services delivered via telehealth in the same manner as those services when provided by direct provider contact. This is not a payment parity bill but it would prohibit those insurance companies from refusing to establish a reimbursement for telehealth services if it also covers those services when delivered in person. The bill was signed into law on March 29 and becomes effective July 1.
HF 2456 – behavioral health: This bill is the behavioral health policy bill that incorporates the recommendations of the complex needs workgroup (legislatively appointed after the 2017 legislative session) as well as recommendations from the IHA-IMS workgroup on behavioral health. The bill was signed into law on March 29, 2018. The major provisions of the bill include:
SF 2113 – suicide prevention: This bill requires school districts to provide annual training to all employees under the purview of the Board of Educational Examiners on suicide prevention and postvention. This requirement applies to those employees who have regular contact with students in grades 6 – 12. The bill further requires school districts to provide annual training to all employees under the purview of the Board of Educational Examiners on how to identify adverse childhood experiences and strategies to mitigate the impact those experiences may have on a student. This requirement applies to those employees who have regular contact with students in grades K-12. In addition, school boards are required to adopt protocols for suicide prevention and postvention and strategies to mitigate the impacts of adverse childhood experiences on a student’s learning. The bill was signed into law on March 29 and becomes effective on July 1.
SF 2418 – FY 2019 Health and Human Services Budget: This bill establishes funding for health and human services programs and includes some policy language. The most significant policy language establishes a requirement that mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists with a temporary licensure and psychologists with a conditional license be reimbursed for their services if provided under the direction of a qualified supervisor. This language was agreed upon by Wellmark whose action to clarify that there was not a reimbursement process for those with temporary licenses spurred this action. Please see below for a call to action for IMHCA members.
In addition, the bill includes language that provider groups sought to improve the delivery of Medicaid managed care. These include:
YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED – PROTECT INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT FOR TEMPORARY LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS
SF 2418, the budget bill for health and human services programs, contains some important language regarding insurance reimbursement. IMHCA worked closely with legislators to craft this language to ensure that those mental health professionals can be reimbursed for the services they provide during their supervisory period prior to full licensure.
This language is subject to potential line item veto as it is policy language in a budget bill. While we anticipate that this language will be signed into law, please take a few minutes to email Governor Kim Reynolds to ask her to retain this provision of the bill.
Click this link to contact the governor’s office: https://governor.iowa.gov/contactand then click “Register an Opinion”. This will provide the official format for you to submit comments to Governor Reynolds.
In crafting your submission, please consider the following: