Legislative news and Call to Action: Advocate for Temp Licensed Reimbursement

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:

• Clarifies Licensure for Subacute Care Facilities
• Regions Shall Ensure the Availability of Core Services, Contingent Upon Federal Funding Availability, No Later Than October 1, 2018
• Regions May Partner to Make Core Services Available
• Medicaid Must Cover Medically Necessary Core Services
  Core Services Include:
• 22 Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Teams
• 6 Subacute Regional Access Centers (Established by December 31, 2019)
• Intensive Residential Service Homes (IRSH) for up to 120 Patients Statewide
• Modify Regions’ Civil Commitment Process:
• Ensure Civil Commitment Prescreening Within Four Hours of Emergency Detention
• Ensure the Coordination of Appropriate Levels of Care, Including Securing Inpatient Psychiatric Beds or Community-Based Resources and Services, When Needed
• Ensure Ongoing Consultation with a Physician or other Mental Health Professional While Patients Remain in the ER
• Clarifies Disclosure of Mental Health Information to Law Enforcement
• Expedites Release of Patients in a Mental Health or Substance Abuse Involuntary Commitment if Recommended by the Examining Physician
• Clarifies Transport Responsibilities for Patients Under a Mental Health Involuntary Commitment
• DHS & IDPH Must Establish a Statewide Crisis Hotline
• DHS & IDPH Must Convene Stakeholders to Review the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Involuntary Commitment Process and Make Recommendations for Improvement
• DHS & IDPH Must Convene Stakeholders to Review the Role of Tertiary Care Psychiatric Hospitals in Delivering Mental Health Services and Issue Recommendations by November 30, 2018

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:

• Standards for timely claims processing
• Standardized medicaid provider enrollment forms
• Review of the effectiveness of prior authorization standards
• Independent audit of small claims to determine the accuracy of MCO determinations and payments
• Directs DHS to convene a workgroup to review the health home program and issue recommendations for the future of that medicaid initiative

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:

1. Ask that she retain Division XXVIII – Coverage of Behavioral Health Services Provided by Certain Providers.
2. Talk about the importance of this training and being reimbursed for the services you provide in delivering mental health services around the state.
3. Share any personal experiences you have had as a temporary licensee or in supervising an individual with a temporary license.