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DGR Telephone:
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Follow APA Advocacy on Twitter!
The APA Department of Government Relations is now on Twitter! Now you can find out about APA Advocacy activities, Congressional hearings, mark-ups, and floor votes in real time.
Please click on the following link to start following APA Advocacy Twitter:
http://twitter.com/apa_
advocacy
Questions about the Twitter page or how to set up an account? Please contact Kyle Folsom at advocacy@psych.org. |
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APA Members Push for Issuance of Final Parity Rule
This past week the APA asked its members to push their U.S. Senators and Representatives to sign-onto two "Dear Colleague" letters authored by Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and John Sullivan (R-OK). Each letter asks Secretary Sebelius to push the Administration to clarify gray areas of the interim final parity rule, by issuing a final parity rule. Overwhelmingly, APA members have responded to our grassroots calls by calling and/or emailing their legislators. To date, 32 House members and 12 Senators have joined with Senator Franken and Representatives Tonko and Sullivan in asking the Administration to issue the final mental health parity rule. We commend your prompt and stalwart advocacy efforts! |
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APA Sponsors Congressional Briefing on Mental Health Research Advances
On May 3, APA brought top researchers to the Hill for a briefing and Q&A session on the science of mental illness and why continued federal support is more important than ever. The panelists included Susan Swedo, M.D. of the National Institute of Mental Health, Wilson Compton, M.D., M.P.E. of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Matthew Friedman, M.D., Ph.D. of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Dartmouth University. Topics included autism treatment research, veterans mental health recovery and resilience, and addiction treatment. The briefing was sponsored by Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and included an appearance by Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA), who serves as co-chair of the House Mental Health Caucus.
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| Coming Soon! "Health Care Reform: A Primer for Psychiatrists"
DGR has joined with the APA Office of Publishing to create an online resource for APA members to evaluate the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PL 111-148) and what it means for their practices and patients. The Health Care Reform Primer will include articles, analysis and commentary from Psychiatric Services, American Journal of Psychiatry, and Psychiatric Services, as well as summaries and explanatory documents from the Department of Government Relations. This collection of information is designed to keep you informed on key health care reform issues related to the practice of psychiatry.
The completed primer will be published shortly. In the meantime, please feel free to access current information on health care reform through the following link:
http://www.psych.org/MainMenu/AdvocacyGovernmentRelations/
GovernmentRelations/HealthCareReform.aspx
And be sure to watch for the upcoming announcement of the completed primer! |
Where in the US is Kate McAllister?
On April 16, State Legislative Field Representative, Kate McAllister, attended the Vermont Psychiatric Association (VPA) annual meeting. Kate gave a presentation to 20 VPA members on advocacy initiatives including state grassroots training, the importance of communicating to legislators, how to effectively compose and deliver testimony, how to start a state PAC, and information on basic media training.
If you are interested in having Kate visit your state meeting to deliver advocacy, coalition, and/or media training, please contact her at kmcallister@psych.org or 703-907-8575.
Don't forget to stop by the APA Advocacy booth at the Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii to talk to Kate and learn about state advocacy initiatives!
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House Committee Conducts Hearing on the Future of SGR and Medicare Payment
On May 5, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health convened for a hearing dedicated to potential legislative fixes to the troubled Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. As you know, the scheduled SGR cuts have been averted since 2003 and have led Congress to act five times to stop the cuts in reimbursement rates in 2010 - ultimately enacting a one-year patch in December. But when that runs out on January 1, 2012, payments will drop by 29.4 percent. Physician witnesses rallied behind a plan to repeal the SGR and provide a 5 year stability period with positive updates where innovative demonstration projects can be formally tested and evaluated. Members of both parties in the House have expressed commitment to passing comprehensive SGR legislation by the Fall. However, the large costs associated with SGR repeal and federal deficit constraints remain a challenge.
An archived webcast will soon be available at the following link:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=8536 |
| APA Submits Comments to Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for HIT 5 year Strategic Plan
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