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We invite you to browse our site: Read about our mission and current practice, education and science legislative priorities. Take a look at our Board, read the AAP Newsletter, Advance, here on-line, and much more. Read current and past issues of the AAP newsletter, AAP Advance. How can you help? Join AAP and make a contribution to AAP/PLAN. Your contribution will go a long way toward insuring that psychology’s voice will be heard in Washington concerning the Practice, Education, and/or Science Legislative Agendas. Fundamentally, AAP and AAP/PLAN exist to promote psychology’s practice, education and science legislative agenda. Search the site: . Copyright 2008 Association for the Advancement of Psychology. All rights reserved. Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP) P.O. Box 38129, Colorado Springs, CO 80937-8129 Karen Rivard - Administrative Director Phone: 800.869.6595 Fax:719.520.0375 Email - Krivard@AAPNet.org Stephen M. 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","",""," Why Join AAP? Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board How AAP Membership Can Benefit You Join AAP Today AAP Is Effective. AAP has achieved a prominent position as one of the top 20 national health associations. Experience demonstrates that AAP’s political activity heightens access to policymakers who make the decisions, and allows psychology’s advocates to work in the most advantageous political climate. One AAP tool that has worked well for psychology is AAP/PLAN (Psychologists for Legislative Action Now) psychology’s successful national political action committee. (PAC). PLAN could not legally function for organized psychology without AAP! AAP continues as an independent organization to maintain and support AAP/PLAN and to coordinate political giving with psychology’s national political agenda. With the formation of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization (APAPO), and the more recently established Education Advocacy Trust, this coordination can be accomplished almost seamlessly. AAP Has A Proven Track Record. AAP and AAP/PLAN’s support of psychology national legislative agenda has helped to gain: Practice Parity between mental and physical health benefits in private insurance industry health plans. A host of patient and provider protections in Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare recognition of psychologists as fully independent providers in all settings. Removal of Medicare’s annual cap on the consumption of Mental health Benefits; thereby encouraging psychological interventions and hopefully minimizing overmedicating in the care of the elderly. Increasing clarification of national policy on hospital privilege for psychologists. Education Increased funding for psychology education and training through the Bureau of Health Professions Graduate Psychology Education Program. Support for increased mental/behavioral services on college campuses through the Garrett-Lee-Smith Memorial Act Campus Suicide Prevention Program. Establishment of the Department of Def "); array_files[25]=new Array(0,1,"./advance.htm","2008-08-11","11K","AAP Advance ","",""," AAP Advance Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board AAP Advance AAP publishes a quarterly newsletter, the AAP Advance. You can read current and past issues here online in PDF format. To read the PDF documents listed below, you need the free Adobe Reader. If you dont have it, you can download it free using this link: AAP Advance Archives Select the issue: 2006-Current AAP Advance archives: Select issue- Summer, 2008 Spring, 2008 Winter, 2008 Fall, 2007 Summer, 2007 Spring, 2007 Winter, 2007 Fall, 2006 Summer, 2006 Spring, 2006 Winter, 2006 2000-2005 AAP Advance archives: Select issue- Summer, 2000 Winter, 2001 Spring, 2001 Summer, 2001 Fall, 2001 Winter, 2002 Spring, 2002 Summer, 2002 Fall, 2002 Winter, 2003 Spring, 2003 Summer, 2003 Fall, 2003 Winter, 2004 Spring, 2004 Summer, 2004 Fall, 2004 Winter, 2005 Spring, 2005 Summer, 2005 Fall, 2005 Contact AAP Write, fax, email or call us with your questions or concerns. Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP) P.O. Box 38129, Colorado Springs, CO 80937-8129 Karen Rivard - Administrative Director Phone: 800.869.6595 Fax: 719.520.0375 Email - Krivard@AAPNet.org Stephen M. Pfeiffer, Ph.D. - Executive Director Phone: 800.735.7305 Fax: 510.655.2003 Email - SMPfeiffer@AAPNet.org Copyright 2008 Association for the Advancement of Psychology. All rights reserved. Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP) P.O. Box 38129, Colorado Springs, CO 80937-8129 Karen Rivard - Administrative Director Phone: 800.869.6595 Fax:719.520.0375 Email - Krivard@AAPNet.org Stephen M. Pfeiffer, Ph.D. - Executive Director Phone:800.735.7305 Fax:510.655.2003 Email - SMPfeiffer@AAPNet.org "); array_files[26]=new Array(0,1,"./legislative.htm","2008-08-11","22K","AAP Legislative Issues ","",""," AAP Legislative Issues Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board AAP Legislative Issues AAP and AAP/PLAN are providing support for a number of important legislative initiatives of interest to the professional practice and discipline of psychology, psychology education and training, as well as psychological science. A brief overview of some of these initiatives follows. To read the PDF documents listed below, you need the free Adobe Reader. If you dont have it, you can download it free using this link: Practice Initiatives There are six current significant practice initiatives: Congress Should Enact A Mental Health Parity Bill This Year: A strong push is needed to pass a mental health parity bill into law this year. The Senate has passed a strong bill, and the House has now passed a similar bill, but time is short. Please urge negotiations now between the House and Senate so that mental health parity can become law this year. Read PDF>> Congress Should Restore Medicare Mental Health Services Cuts: Congress should restore reimbursement cuts to psychologists’ and social workers’ services in Medicare legislation to protect the mental health benefits that Medicare patients receive. Read PDF>> Congress Should Protect Patient Records Privacy in HIT Legislation: Congress should ensure that patient records privacy and security is a cornerstone of any legislation that promotes the development of health information technology (HIT) in the health care system. Read PDF>> Medicare Should Reimburse Hospitals for Psychology Training: The Problem for Patients: Psychologists are currently ineligible for Medicare training reimbursement. While physicians and at least 19 allied health care professionals, including nurses, dietetic interns, physical therapists, radiographers and clinical pastoral counselors, are eligible for Medicare training dollars, psychologists are not but should receive funding. In fact, psychologists are the only doctoral-level providers excluded from trai "); array_files[27]=new Array(0,1,"./index.html","2008-08-11","10K","Welcome to AAP ","",""," Welcome to AAP Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board Welcome to AAP, the Association for the Advancement of Psychology Welcome to the AAP’s new website. Working together, we CAN make a difference. Whether you are an independent practitioner, a psychology faculty member, a researcher or an administrator, federal policies and government funded financial support are vital to advancing psychology. It is critical that we make Members of Congress aware of the significant contributions that psychology makes to health, education, human performance and the public welfare. Join Today! We need your support! As practitioners know, providing quality psychological services within most health care systems today is becoming increasingly difficult. Likewise, except for a few small federal programs, there is very limited federal funding to support psychology graduate education and training. In addition, shrinking state allocations and federal budgets are beginning to have a negative impact on federal research grants. We invite you to browse our site: Read about our mission and current practice, education and science legislative priorities. Take a look at our Board, read the AAP Newsletter, Advance, here on-line, and much more. Read current and past issues of the AAP newsletter, AAP Advance. How can you help? Join AAP and make a contribution to AAP/PLAN. Your contribution will go a long way toward insuring that psychology’s voice will be heard in Washington concerning the Practice, Education, and/or Science Legislative Agendas. Fundamentally, AAP and AAP/PLAN exist to promote psychology’s practice, education and science legislative agenda. Search the site: . Copyright 2008 Association for the Advancement of Psychology. All rights reserved. Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP) P.O. Box 38129, Colorado Springs, CO 80937-8129 Karen Rivard - Administrative Director Phone: 800.869.6595 Fax:719.520.0375 Email - Krivard@AAPNet.org Stephen M. Pfeiffer, Ph.D. - Executive Director Pho "); array_files[28]=new Array(0,1,"./contribution.htm","2008-08-11","18K","Contribute to AAP/PLAN ","",""," Contribute to AAP/PLAN Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board AAP/PLAN Contribution Form Click to Contribute Online - Quick, Easy, Secure! You can make your contribution to AAP/PLAN by credit card or check. To contribute using your credit card securely online, click here. To contribute using a check: Complete and then print this page and mail it with your check to AAP • P.O. Box 38129 • Colorado Springs, Colorado 80937. You can also click Submity to send it electronically to AAP, but you must mail your check and a copy of the form. Or, for easy, secure online contributions, CLICK HERE. labelName labelAddress labelCity, State, ZIP label label labelTelephone labelEmail label One-time contribution of label I would like to arrange a regular periodic contribution. To do this easily and securely, click here. Otherwise please call AAP at 800-869-6595. Area of primary concern: (Please place a 1 next to your primary area, and, optionally, 2, 3, and 4 next to second, third and fourth ranking areas): label Practice Legislative Agenda labelEducation Legislative Agenda labelScience Legislative Agenda label To comply with Federal Election Commission requirements, we must confirm that the following statements are true for all contributors. Please check the box before each statement that applies to you. Your contribution cannot be accepted unless each box is checked. Please check the following: Personal Funds: label This contribution is made from my own funds and not from those of another. Source of Funds: label This contribution is not made from the general treasury funds of a corporation, labor organization, or national bank. Resident Verification: label I am not a federal government contractor, nor am I a foreign national who lacks permanent resident status in the United States. Legal Obligation: label This contribution is made on a personal credit card for which I have the legal obligation to pay, and is not made on a corporate or business entity credit card or on the card "); array_files[29]=new Array(0,1,"./application.htm","2008-08-11","14K","AAP Board ","",""," AAP Board Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board AAP Membership Application Form Click here to join online - Quick, Easy, Secure! You can make your contribution to AAP/PLAN by credit card or check. To join using your credit card securely online, click here. To join using a check: Complete and then print this page and mail it with your check to AAP • P.O. Box 38129 • Colorado Springs, Colorado 80937. You can also click Submity to send it electronically to AAP, but you must mail your check and a copy of the form. Or, for easy, secure online application, CLICK HERE. labelName labelAddress labelCity, State, ZIP label label labelTelephone labelEmail label Introductory Membership - New members only (75)label All Individual Members (120)label Sponsoring Organizations (180)label Students (25) Area of primary concern: (Please place a 1 next to your primary area, and, optionally, 2, 3, and 4 next to second, third and fourth ranking areas): label Practice Legislative Agenda labelEducation Legislative Agenda labelScience Legislative Agenda label Please sign and include your check. To join online and pay by credit card securely online, click here instead. Signed_____________________________________ Date __________________ Please note: 1. All dues are annual. 2. Checks should be made payable to AAP. 3. Dues may be paid by corporate check. AAP dues are not deductible as a charitable contribution, and the portion of dues attributable to lobbying is not deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense. 45% of dues are non-deductible for federal income tax purposes. label label label . . The Board of AAP is elected by the membership. You can join AAP today either by printing and sending your application, or directly and securely on-line using your credit card. Want to contribute to AAP/PLAN? Contribute securely online today, click here. Copyright 2008 Association for the Advancement of Psychology. All rights reserved. Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP) P. "); array_files[30]=new Array(0,1,"./aspmail.asp","2008-08-11","5K","New Page ","",""," New Page Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board Form Submission Successful   Copyright 2008 Association for the Advancement of Psychology. All rights reserved. Association for the Advancement of Psychology (AAP) P.O. Box 38129, Colorado Springs, CO 80937-8129 Karen Rivard - Administrative Director Phone: 800.869.6595 Fax:719.520.0375 Email - Krivard@AAPNet.org Stephen M. Pfeiffer, Ph.D. - Executive Director Phone:800.735.7305 Fax:510.655.2003 Email - SMPfeiffer@AAPNet.org "); array_files[31]=new Array(0,1,"./mission.htm","2008-08-11","7K","Mission of AAP ","",""," Mission of AAP Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board Mission of AAP AAP was founded in 1974 for the purpose of promoting human welfare through the advancement of the profession and science of psychology. AAP promotes the interests of all psychologists in several ways including: 1) representation of psychologists before public and governmental bodies, 2) cooperation with other organizations and agencies in furtherance of the profession,thescience of psychology, and the education and training of psychologists, and 3) support and operation of a political committee known as Psychologists for Legislative Action Now (AAP/PLAN). It is this last function which makes AAP unique among all national organizations representing psychologists. AAP/PLAN is the only “separate segregated fund” or PAC, as defined by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which is exclusively devoted to promoting psychology’s national legislative agenda. AAP/PLAN is a bi-partisan PAC which contributes to candidates regardless of party affiliation. AAP’s fundamental mission is the support of candidates for the U.S. Congress who are sympathetic to psychology’s concerns, through electioneering activities. Organizational Structure Membership is divided into three classes: regular, organizational and student. There is one 6-member Board of Trustees serving terms of four years. The Chair of the Board and the Secretary-Treasurer are elected from and by the Board. Top Legislative Priorities and Issues AAP’s has targeted as a top priority the broad range of mental health services in health care reform legislation covering the continuum of care required by mental health patients. Chief among the reforms desired by psychologists is legislation to insure a level of quality standards by the managed care industry which would include: legal accountability for their negligent acts, a choice of providers, and nondiscrimination of providers. Another key priority for AAP is the expansion of the 1996 Mental Health Parity A "); array_files[32]=new Array(0,1,"./history.htm","2008-08-11","14K","History of AAP ","",""," History of AAP Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board History of AAP by Rogers H. Wright, Ph.D. The Association for the Advancement of psychology (AAP) was founded in early 1974 following a very turbulent Winter session of the American Psychological Association Council of Representatives. AAP was actually psychology’s second political action group, preceded in 1972 by the Council for the Advancement of the Psychological Professions and Sciences (CAPPS). American Psychology, which for the first 80 years of its existence had had no organized public policy arm whatsoever, now had two. These developments reflected the emergence of professional psychology as a major national force in psychology. From its inception, American psychology was essentially an academic pursuit concerned primarily with research. When psychological service delivery existed at all, it was provided primarily through psychological “clinics” housed in university settings, typically as an adjunct of research programs. The onset of World War II brought dramatic changes. The military’s needs for classification of individuals on factors such as intelligence and aptitude, and for treatment of the psychological casualties of World War II, and the public’s developing awareness and acceptance of the need for support psychological services, combined to create support for the emergence of psychological service delivery. By the late 1950s, the increasing numbers of practitioners delivering psychological services generated widespread concern about issues such as licensing laws for psychologists, federal funding for health service delivery, and funding for training and research. The concurrent emergence of prepaid third party health insurance, which initially excluded reimbursement for psychological services, began to impose severe restrictions on the delivery of psychological services. Psychological practitioners quickly became sensitized to the importance of their participation in public policy and political activiti "); array_files[33]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_winter_2008.pdf","2008-08-11","1366K"," untitled ","","","WINTER 2008 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Big Year For Congressional Democrats Predicted by Early 2008 Financial Reports Stephen M. Pfeiffer, Ph.D. ANNOUNCEMENT A A P CHAIR ELECTION E arly signs from the nine-month financial reports which House candidates filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in October suggest that Republicans may have a hard time making inroads into the majority that Democrats captured in 2006. Only 22% of the 229 House Democrats seeking reelection in 2008 face challengers who filed any financial reports at this stage with the FEC at all. While more challengers are likely to emerge in coming months, the potentially telling fact is the imbalance between the two parties: 38% of the 191 Republican incumbents seeking reelection had challengers, a full 16 percentage points more than the Democrats. This could be an early indication of potential recruitment problems for the GOP. Political scientists often consider candidate emergence patterns as an important sign of potential election success. These recruitment percentages look a bit like 2005, as the Democrats were getting ready for their 2006 net gain of 30 seats in the House. Two years ago, at the end of September 2005, 37% of the Republican incumbents had challengers filing with the FEC compared to 19% of the Democrats. By way of contrast, only 22% of the Republicans and 26% of the Democrats had challengers who filed with the FEC at this time in 2003--one year before Republicans gained three seats in the House. These 2007 numbers arent necessarily predictive of large Democratic gains in 2008. But the imbalance does suggest that the GOP in 2008 may have a hard time recapturing much of the ground that it lost in 2006. The problem revealed by the FEC reports for the GOP goes beyond the CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS C ON TIN UED ON PAGE 15 J ennifer Kelly, Ph.D. was unanimously elected to suc- ceed Ronald Fox, Psy.D., Ph.D. as Chair of the AAP Board of Tru "); array_files[34]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_spring_2008.pdf","2008-08-11","1144K"," 14616 AAP.qxp:AAP winter 2006 ","","","SPRING 2008 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Parity Legislation Passes House; Final Bill Yet To Be Determined Judith Steller, Ph.D. t long last, bills providing mental health parity benefits comparable to physical health benefits have passed both chambers of the U.S. Congress. Ever since Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) shepherded the first mental health parity legislation through Congress in 1996, advocates have been struggling to achieve further mental health parity benefits. One significant step remains: the House and Senate must agree on a final form of the bill which will be sent to the President for signing into law. Advocates, including the American Psychological Association (APA), stress that time is short. On March 5, 2008, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 (H.R. 1424), was passed in the House, 268 to 148. The bill was sponsored by Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN). Members voted for the bill almost 2 to A 1, with 47 Republicans voting with 221 Democrats. Before passage of the House bill, the Senate bill, the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 (S.558), had already passed by unanimous vote on September 18, 2007. The Senate bill was sponsored by Senators Pete V. Domenici (R-NM), Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), and Michael B. Enzi (R-WY). The Senate committee had spent more than a year of negotiations between insurance and business associations, issue advocates, and three key senators, preparing for that bill and that vote, according to Doug Trapp in A m e r ic an M e d ic al N e w s . The next big step in mental health parity achievement, resolving the differences in the two recently passed bills, lies ahead. Senate Republicans are not thought likely to support the appointment of a conference commit- tee for finding compromises in the language of these bills. The standard conference committee described in Political Science 101 textbooks, the committee formally charged by "); array_files[35]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_summer_2008.pdf","2008-08-11","2713K"," untitled ","","","SUMMER 2008 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA18) Honored for Work on Mental Health Editors Note: C o n g r e s s m an Tim M u r p h y (R -P A 1 8 ), a c h ild p s y c h o lo g is t fo r thirty y e ar s b e f o r e b e g in n in g his c ar e e r in p o litic s , re c e iv e d the Le g is lato r o f the Ye ar A w ar d fro m the N atio n al Co u n c il fo r C o m m u n ity Be h av io ral H e alth c are in M arc h 2 0 0 8 . R e p . M u rp h y w as ho n o re d fo r his e ffo rts to imp ro v e the av ailab ility and q u ality o f tre atm e n ts and sup p o rts fo r p e o p le w ith me n tal illne sse s and ad d ic tio n d iso rd e rs. H e has intro d u c e d le g islatio n to inc re ase fund in g fo r c o m m u n ity me n tal he alth se rv ic e s, inc re ase th e av ailab ility o f me n tal he alth se rv ic e s fo r se n io rs, and p re v e n t c u ts fo r m e n tal he alth se rv ic e s p ro v id e d b y M e d ic aid . In his third te r m o f o f f ic e , C o n g r e s s m an M u r p h y c le ar ly re m ain s c o m m itte d to the v alu e s and c o n c e r n s o f p s y c h o lo g is ts . H is le ad e r s h ip in m e n tal he alth and he alth c ar e le g is latio n is info r m e d b y his ye ar s o f e xp e r ie n c e in the fie ld o f p s y c h o lo g y . R e p . M u r p h y is no t o n ly an ac tiv e au th o r o f he alth c ar e le g is latio n , b u t als o a Co -C h air o f the Co n g r e s s io n al M e n tal H e alth Cauc u s , w h o s e me m b e r s h ip inc lu d e s o v e r nine ty me m b e r s o f Co n g r e s s w o r k in g in a b ip ar tis an s e ttin g to imp r o v e me n tal he alth c ar e an d its d e liv e r y . H e is also Co -C h air o f the 21 s t C e n tu r y H e alth c ar e C au c u s , a b ip ar tis an o rg an iz atio n o f R e p r e s e n tativ e s ad v o c atin g he alth c ar e tr an s f o r m atio n . A d v anc e as k e d Co n g r e s s m an M u r p h y to share his tho u g h ts a "); array_files[36]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_fall_2007.pdf","2008-08-11","968K"," AAP Fall Advance Qk 5.qxd ","","","FALL 2007 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization NSF Commitment to Social Science Research Preserved Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA) Chair, Subcommittee on Research and Science, Education ­ House Science Committee O ver the last few months, the social sciences have been under attack in the halls of Congress. As we worked on legislation reauthorizing the National Science Foundation (NSF), there were vigorous assaults on the social sciences and efforts to reduce the amount of funding for social science research. As a trained psychologist, I was deeply disturbed by these attempts to undermine social science. I recognize the important role that social science research, particularly behavioral science research, plays in solving some of the most vexing problems that we face as a nation such as health care, energy, and homeland security. But, more than that, as a scientist, I am passionate about science. I share the belief of some of our greatest Founding Fathers, including Franklin and Jefferson, that the scientific values of inquiry, debate, and decision-making underpin the democratic process itself and should guide public policy. Fortunately, as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education in the House Science Committee, I am in a position to defend scientific integrity and maintain the federal governments commitment to social science. In May, during consideration of the NSF reauthorization bill (H.R. 1867) some members offered amendments to de-fund social science studies at the NSF. I led the fight against these misguided amendments and adamantly defended NSFs peer review process. I made the case for social science research and argued that it is not the place of either side of the aisle to single out particular studies, as has been done in this case, and presume that with a 5-minute examination we know better than peer reviewers who have the degrees in relevant fields and have spent years studying them and have evalua "); array_files[37]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_summer_2007.pdf","2008-08-11","664K"," 10128 aap summer.qxd ","","","SUMMER 2007 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Senate Likely to Take Up Parity Bill in Summer Nanci C. Klein, Ph.D. S enate bill S. 558, The Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, was introduced on February 12, 2007 by Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), and Michael Enzi (R-WY). If enacted, this legislation will completely end insurance discrimination against mental health (including substance use) benefits coverage in the private healthcare system for larger and ERISA-exempt health plans. S. 558 requires full parity between mental and physical health conditions for all aspects of plan coverage, including day and visit limits, annual and lifetime dollar limits, coinsurance, deductibles and out-ofpocket expenses. The bill adds to the parity protections of the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which already provides parity for lifetime and annual dollar limits. Like current law, S. 558 will not apply to small employer plans with 50 or fewer employees or to individuals covered by the individual market. State parity laws, where applicable, will continue to protect people in these plans. If enacted, 113 million people across the country will have the right to non-discriminatory mental health coverage. The present legislation is the first federal parity legislation that has been endorsed by a coalition of mental health advocates, insurance groups and key parts of the business community. On February 14, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted 18-3 to approve the bill. Although the HELP committee vote tally would appear to be a ringing endorsement of the bill, key issues remain to be resolved. PARITY BILL CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 AAP and APA Practice Organization Conduct Fund Drive Aimed at Medicare Rate Cut AP and the APA Practice Organization have once again combined forces in launching a direct mail fundraising appeal aimed at the practitioner community. Contributions are needed now to assist "); array_files[38]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_spring_2007.pdf","2008-08-11","2770K"," untitled ","","","SPRING 2007 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Congress Poised to Move Forward on Mental Health Parity Nanci C. Klein, Ph.D. Psychology Looks to Congress for Medicare Fix Nanci C. Klein, Ph.D. F or the first time in several years, Congress appears to be taking serious steps to end discrimination against individuals with mental health disorders. With the Mental Health Parity Act sunsetting on December 31, 2007, bipartisan efforts in both chambers of Congress have produced versions of parity legislation that would close loopholes in the original 1996 act. The Senate bill, S. 558, The Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, was introduced on February 12 by Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Michael Enzi (R-WY). Modeled on the current Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHB), covering 8.5 million federal employees, the 2007 bill provides parity for all financial requirements, including annual and lifetime dollar limits, deductibles, copayments, out-of-pocket limits, and coinsurance. S. 558 also provides parity for treatment limitations, such as outpatient visit and inpatient day limits, includes parity for both in- and out-of-network benefits, and provides parity for both mental health and substance abuse. In addition, the Senate bill requires only very narrow state parity law preemptions. The new law will only preempt the financial and treatment limitations in state law, but not state parity mandates or the scope of diagnoses covered by state law. On March 20 the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) set its estimates of the direct costs of the additional services at 0.4%, hardly the prohibitive premium cost increase long predicted by those opposed to expanded parity legislation. As with the 1996 parity legislation, S. 558 amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), thus applying to all group health plans, including large employer plans governed by the Employee Retirement Security Act "); array_files[39]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/science_initiatives.pdf","2008-08-10","18K"," Microsoft Word - Kelly leg agenda - 2.doc ","","","APAs Science Directorate Advocacy Priorities The APA Science Directorates Government Relations Office (SGRO) serves as a liaison between psychological science and the federal governments legislative and executive branches. In addition to training psychologists to better advocate for their own research and engage in the policy-making process, SGRO staff work with Congress and federal agencies to further three broad goals: · increase federal funding for psychological research; · ensure that results of relevant research are incorporated into legislation and policy decisions; and · strengthen the scientific infrastructure (e.g., through protecting the peer review process and making sure that the regulation of science is fair and transparent). SGRO tracks and advocates for federal investments in psychological research across multiple agencies, including: the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as well as the Departments of Education, Defense, Transportation, Commerce, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. The following are examples of SGROs current advocacy initiatives that fall within the three overall priority areas: Leading Coalition Efforts for Child Development Research SGRO is taking a lead in advocating for a 6.6 percent increase for research at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in Fiscal Year 2009. In coalition with other health groups, SGRO has submitted appropriations testimony, met with Congressional appropriations committee staff, and sponsored a Congressional briefing to highlight the cutting edge research the institute funds in intellectual and developmental disabilities. Lobbying efforts for NIH biomedical and behavioral research support will continue throughout the 110th Congress. Bringing the Concerns of Psychological Science to the Table As NIH Modifies its Peer Review Process The fairnes "); array_files[40]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/educ_ferpa.pdf","2008-08-10","10K"," Microsoft Word - Document1 ","","","FAMILY EDUCATION RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of students educational records for those students attending any school that receive funds from U.S. Department of Education programs. This law applies to elementary, secondary and postsecondary institutions. On March 24th, the U.S. Department of Education proposed new regulations related to this important privacy law. Education GRO spearheaded a comprehensive, Association-wide effort to draw on the expertise of APA members to offer constructive comments to the Department of Education. Working closely with APA Division 15 ­ Educational Psychology; Division 16 -School Psychology; Division 17 ­ Society of Counseling Psychology; and Division 17s Section on College and University Counseling Center, as well as leaders from the Association of Counseling Center Training Agencies (ACCTA) and the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), APA submitted its letter to the U.S. Department of Education on May 8th. The Associations letter can be accessed at: http://www.apa.org/ppo/education/ferpa0508.html "); array_files[41]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/educ_hea.pdf","2008-08-10","8K"," Microsoft Word - Document1 ","","","THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT REAUTHORIZATION The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are currently working to complete the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) this Congress. This important federal law provides the framework for our national investment in post-secondary study. Last reauthorized in 1998, the higher education programs contained in the Act have been operating under an extension of the current law since the HEA expired in fiscal year 2003. American Psychological Association first submitted recommendations for the reauthorization in December of 2003 and has been working since that time to have them incorporated into a newly revised version of HEA. APAs recommendations are diverse and touch a variety of areas that are relevant and important to members represented by various Divisions within the Association. APA has placed a great emphasis on teacher quality and sought to draw upon psychological research in the area of teaching and learning to propose a new definition of the term teaching skills. The APA definition has been adopted in both the House and Senate bills. In addition, APAs proposal to engage Departments of Psychology in the teacher education process had been accepted in both the House and Senate bills and Departments of Psychology are included as eligible partners under the Teacher Quality Grant program. APAs Office of Accreditation, working with Education GRO has been at the forefront of critical issues facing the accreditation community. APA has worked in coalition with other national education associations to educate Member of Congress and their staff about the accreditation process. APA has promoted the inclusion of a new program that provides loan relief for psychologists. APA has supported the adoption of Loan Forgiveness in Areas of National Need, program that would make mental health professionals eligible for some loan forgiveness. "); array_files[42]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/educ_cdp.pdf","2008-08-10","11K"," Microsoft Word - Document1 ","","","CENTER FOR DEPLOYMENT PSYCHOLOGY The Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) is an innovative Department of Defense psychology training consortium that was established in the FY 2006 Defense Appropriations Bill. The CDP trains psychologists, psychology interns/residents, and other behavioral health professional from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as civilian professionals to provide high quality deployment-related behavioral health services to military personnel and their families. Since its inception in January 2007, the CDP has trained over 100 military personnel and civilians at its core two-week training course held at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, MD and over 500 military personnel and civilians at the ten participating Military Medical Centers across the country. CDP FY 2009 FUNDING - The CDP was recently incorporated into the newly established Department of Defense Center of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury to be the military arm for training health professionals for meeting the mental health needs of returning military personnel and their families. As an established permanent program, the CDP is expected to receive continued annual funding as part of the DCoE and will no longer need a separate Congressional appropriation each fiscal year. CDP HILL BRIEFING - On February 13, a standing-room-only crowd gathered in the U.S. Capitol to hear an APA-sponsored briefing entitled, PTSD, TBI & Post Deployment Adjustment: Addressing Challenges of Returning Military Personnel. The briefing was cosponsored by Congressman Bill Young (R-FL) and Congressman Sam Farr (D-CA) and included presentations by two Iraq war veterans, Captain Aaron Krenz (Minnesota National Guard) and Sergeant Patrick Campbell (Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America), who spoke about dealing with post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and issues in readjusting to civilian life following deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. A third presenter "); array_files[43]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/educ_samhsa.pdf","2008-08-10","14K"," Microsoft Word - Document1 ","","","SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (SAMHSA) *SAMHSA REAUTHORIZATION CAMPUS SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM Authorized first as part of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act and housed at SAMHSA, the Campus Suicide Prevention program is a small but effective competitive grant program that makes funds available to institutions of higher education to enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems, such as depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts. As part of its reauthorization efforts, Education GRO is seeking an expansion of the uses of funds under the Campus Suicide Prevention program to include strengthening and expanding mental and behavioral health training opportunities in internship and residency programs, such as psychology doctoral and post-doctoral training. This change would address a serious concern that APA has raised since 2004; the sharp increase in demand for counseling services as reported by college and university counseling centers. Sixty percent of senior student affairs officers surveyed reported that a record number of students are using campus counseling services for longer periods of time than ever before. Regarding funding, APA is also seeking an increase authorization appropriation of 10 million for the Campus Suicide Prevention program: http://www.apa.org/ppo/education/glsactreauth.html *SAMHSA REAUTHORIZATION WORKFORCE INITIATIVE ­ Education GRO staff have taken the lead for the field in the area of workforce development. There are no provisions on workforce development in the current statute even though the agency was originally mandated with both mental health service delivery and training. Moreover, there are documented shortages in underserved areas, inadequate training, lack of diversity and pipeline issues as documented by the Annapolis Coalition Report (2007), two Institute of Medicine Reports (2006, 2001) and the findings of Presidents (Bush) New Freedom Commission (2002) and the Surgeon Generals Report on Mental Health under Pre "); array_files[44]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/educ_gpe.pdf","2008-08-10","16K"," Microsoft Word - Document1 ","","","GRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY EDUCATION (GPE) PROGRAM The Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program is the only federal program dedicated solely to psychology education and training. Established in 2002 and administered by the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), the GPE Program provides grants to APA-accredited doctoral, internship and postdoctoral programs in support of interdisciplinary training of psychology students for the provision of psychological services to underserved populations (i.e., older adults, children, chronically ill, and victims of abuse and trauma, including returning military), especially in rural and urban communities. Funds may be used for student stipends, faculty and clinical teaching psychologists, curriculum development, model demonstration programs and technical assistance. *FY 2009 GPE FUNDING - Since the FY 2006 cut of 1.6 billion from the Labor-Health & Human Services-Education in which over 50% of the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) funding was eliminated. Congress has been trying to restore those funds. Nevertheless, for FY 2008 the GPE Program once again had broad, bipartisan support that resulted in Report Language for a funding level of 2 million in both the House and Senate appropriations bills. Unfortunately there was no die-hard champion for a significant funding increase. Consequently, there was another across the board cut and the program was funded at 1.9 million. [The highest level of funding for GPE was 4.5 million for FY 2003, 2004, and 2005.] For FY 2009 Education Government Relations Office (GRO) staff is again seeking 7 million to: 1) reinstate the geropsychology training grants, 2) restore funding for each grant from an average of 75,000 back to over 150,000, and 3) increase the number of overall grants to allow for more of the remaining 900 eligible programs to apply. So far this year, a number of GPE grantees have made hill visits, as have some geropsychologists and other APA members including Dr. Alan Kazdin, APA President. All have urged Members of their delega "); array_files[45]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/practice_gme08_hosp.pdf","2008-08-10","22K"," Microsoft Word - GME2008.doc ","","","Medicare Should Reimburse Hospitals for Psychology Training The Problem for Patients: Psycholo g i s t s are currently ineligible for Medicare training reimbursement. While physicians and at least 19 allied health care professionals, including nurses, dietetic interns, physical therapists, radiographers and clinical pastoral counselors, are eligible for Medicare training dollars, psychologists are not but should receive funding. In fact, psychologists are the only doctoral-level providers excluded from training reimbursement. Hospitals are reducing psycholo g y training due to costs. Hospitals pay for and run psychology internship training programs with no Medicare reimbursement. This lack of reimbursement in a difficult fiscal climate has forced many hospitals to reduce financial support to train psychologists. Cutbacks in psycholo g y training programs mean fewer services for patients. Psychology interns provide a range of key, often unique, therapeutic, primary care, and diagnostic services to Medicare beneficiaries. These services are particularly important for hospitals in rural and underserved areas, where physicians are not as available to provide similar services. Patient testing services are in jeopardy. Psychologists provide unique testing services that assess a patients mental and physical functioning. Interns provide these services to patients as part of their clinical training. There is no Medicare reimbursement for these intern services, so training funding is the only way that Medicare can recognize these services. Psychologists receive no training funding, so patient access to this vitally critical testing is in jeopardy. Patients need psycholo g y intern services. Hospitals place psychology interns in many settings, including psychology and psychiatry departments, pain management units, physical and mental rehab units, community and preventive health departments, and cardiology, surgery, anesthesiology and other medical specialty areas. Interns provide patients with a broad array of services an "); array_files[46]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/practice_em_medicare.pdf","2008-08-10","16K"," Microsoft Word - E&M.doc ","","","Medicare Should Acknowledge the Evaluation and Management Services Already Being Provided by Clinical Psychologists Evaluation and management (E/M) services account for a broad range of office-based and inpatient visits. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), E/M services are medical in nature and therefore may not be furnished by psychologists or social workers. CMSs view, however, is outdated and does not reflect how widely psychology is now integrated with total patient health care. More and more of the work done by psychologists includes E/M services, especially in rural areas where patients being treated with psychotherapy may also be taking psychotropic medications prescribed by their primary care physicians. CMS tracks services furnished by all health care professionals through the use of the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding system. E/M services that psychologists provide, but are not allowed to bill Medicare for, include consultations (codes 99241-99255), psychotherapy for patients who either are on psychotropic medications or have other physical medical illnesses that affect their mental health (codes 90805,-07,-09,-11,-13,-15,-17,-19,-22,-24,-27,-29) and care provided to nursing home residents (codes 99307-99310). Psychologists are not seeking permission to provide new services to their patients. They are seeking to be recognized by Medicare for the services that they already provide. Psychologists are unfairly burdened by not having access to the E/M Codes Psychologists were among one of the most severely impacted specialties when Medicare reduced all work values to achieve budget neutrality in 2007. CMS imposed this reduction in order to offset the increase in payment for E/M services. Psychologists suffered more than most other health care professionals because their services are work-intensive and they cannot recoup any of these losses through the increase for E/M. It is inequitable to require psychologists to fund higher payments for E/M codes that they cann "); array_files[47]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/practice_hit.pdf","2008-08-10","19K"," Microsoft Word - HIT.doc ","","","Congress Should Protect Patient Records Privacy in HIT Legislation Congress should ensure that patient records privacy and security is a cornerstone of any legislation that promotes the development of health information technology (HIT) in the health care system. HIT development involves moving the current, mainly paper-based health records system to a national electronic health records system. This change has many advantages. For example, it would allow for the comprehensive management of information and its secure exchange between patients, providers and other entities that use health records. It could improve quality by preventing medical errors and reduce costs through decreased paperwork and increased administrative efficiency. Patients would be helped as they manage chronic diseases. Providers would have accessibility to records in a standard, electronic format for treatment decisions and for payment purposes. There is a major risk associated with HIT development--health records in a national, electronic system are more susceptible to intentional or negligent disclosure on a massive scale, causing a loss of privacy and other related problems for patients. This is a real concern since records in centralized electronic systems are being compromised on a daily basis. In fact, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, more than 216,000,000 data records belonging to U.S. residents have been exposed to potential misuse as a result of security breaches since January 2005. Mental health records need heightened privacy and security protection. Mental health records are particularly vulnerable to disclosure, because they typically contain information that could lead to a patients embarrassment or stigmatization. For these patients even the potential loss of records privacy can be devastating. The patient and psychologist must maintain control over the release of these records into the health system since, as the U.S. Supreme Court recognizes in Jaffee v. Redmond, their relationship is rooted in the imperative "); array_files[48]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/Practice_Medicare.pdf","2008-08-10","44K"," Microsoft Word - Medicare.doc ","","","Congress Should Restore Medicare Mental Health Services Cuts Congress should restore reimbursement cuts to psychologists and social workers services in Medicare le g i s l a ti o n to protect the mental health benefits that Medicare patients receive-- · Representatives in the House should continue to support efforts to restore mental health cuts. The House has already passed a provision in Section 610 of the Childrens Health and Medicare Protection Act (CHAMP) to restore critical Medicare reimbursement funding beginning in 2008. · As the Senate considers Medicare legislation, Senators should support Senator Jeff Bingamans (D-NM) efforts to protect Medicare mental health benefits. The Bingaman proposal would restore reimbursement cuts to psychologists and social workers services and make psychologists eligible for E&M reimbursement for the services they provide within their licensure. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) slashed Medicare part B reimbursement for psycholo g i s t s and social workers effective January 1, 2007. Because psychologists and social workers provide almost all of the Medicare psychotherapy and testing services, many senior citizens may lose access to these services, as psychologists and social workers have indicated they may have to reduce their caseloads or leave the Medicare program all together. This cut is attributable to the recent CMS 5-year review (71 Fed. Re g . 37170). Under the 5y e a r review rule, CMS increased payments for physician E&M codes, raising Medicare costs by 4.5 billion. Required by law to keep its costs budget neutral, CMS offset the higher E&M payments by reducing the work relative value units (RVUs) for all Medicare services. The 5-year review cut is different from pay adjustments related to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). Congressional action late last year to avert the scheduled 10.1% pay decrease under the SGR formula and replace it with a 0.5% increase through June 30 t h was critically important to keeping psychologists and other provider "); array_files[49]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/Practice_miotcra.pdf","2008-08-10","39K"," Microsoft Word - MIOTCRA.doc ","","","Support Continued Funding for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act Congress should continue funding for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) for FY 2009. Senators Domenici (R-NM) and Leahy (D-VT) and Representatives Delahunt (D-MA) and Ramstad (R-MN) are circulating appropriations support letters to ask for continued and hopefully increased funding for FY 2009. MIOTCRA, passed unanimously by the U.S. House and Senate and signed into law by President Bush in 2004, authorized the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) grant. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a division of the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice, administers the program. The grant program is designed to increase public safety by facilitating collaboration among the criminal justice, juvenile justice, mental health treatment, and substance abuse systems and to improve access to effective treatment for people with mental illnesses involved with the justice system. Three types of grants are awarded through the JMHCP: planning grants with a maximum award of 50,000 for 12 months, planning and implementation grants with a maximum award of 250,000 for 30 months, and implementation and expansion grants with a maximum award of 200,000 for 24 months. All grants require a joint application from a mental health agency and unit of government responsible for criminal and/or juvenile justice activities. This stipulation underscores the collaborative nature of this grant, which is intended to bring the criminal justice and mental health systems together to improve outcomes for people with mental illnesses in the justice system. MIOTCRA authorized 50 million each for 2004 and 2005, plus funds as necessary for 2006-2009. The program received 5 million in FY 2006 and FY 2007 and 6.5 million for FY 2008. Government Relations Office February 2008 "); array_files[50]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/Practice_parity.pdf","2008-08-10","56K"," Microsoft Word - Parity.doc ","","","Congress Should Enact A Mental Health Parity Bill This Year A strong push is needed to pass a mental health parity bill into law this year. The Senate has passed a strong bill, and the House has now passed a similar bill, but time is short. Please urge negotiations now between the House and Senate so that mental health parity can become law this year. The Senate mental health parity bill (S. 558), sponsored by Pete V. Domenici (RNM), Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Michael B. Enzi (R-WY), was passed by a unanimous vote on September 18, 2007. The House passed H.R. 1424, sponsored by Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN), on March 5, 2008 on a vote of 268 to 148. The Senate and House bills are very similar and both fully protect consumers by-- · · Completely ending insurance discrimination against mental health and substance use disorder benefits by requiring full parity coverage with physical health benefits. Preserving strong state parity and consumer protection laws while extending parity protection to 82 million more people who cannot be protected by state laws. Differences between the Senate and House parity bills can be worked out so that ultimately negotiations produce a bill that can pass the Senate and is acceptable to the House. While the bills are similar in many respects, there are differences to be addressed. These primarily concern: how the range of diagnoses to be covered will be specified, how the law will address the management of benefits by health plans, and how out-of-network services will be covered. The Congressional Budget Office projects that House and Senate parity bills would raise average health plan costs by only 0.4%. This cost increase is shared between the employer and employee, with the employer typically paying a third of the total. Pass parity this year: Employers continue to pay the cost of untreated mental disorders. · Indirect costs of untreated mental health disorders result in a 79 billion annual loss to businesses due to loss of productivity and absenteeism. · Indirect "); array_files[51]=new Array(0,1,"./aapboard.htm","2008-08-10","16K","AAP Board ","",""," AAP Board Home Mission of AAP History of AAP Why Join AAP? Legislative Issues AAP Board AAP Board of Directors and Staff Jeffrey E. Barnett, Psy.D., ABPP Dr. Barnett is a licensed psychologist in independent practice in Maryland. He also is a Professor on the Affiliate Faculty of the Department of Psychology of Loyola College in Maryland. He has been a leader in the profession of psychology in his state of Maryland and nationally. He is a Past President of the Maryland Psychological Association and two APA divisions. He has served on APA’s Council of Representatives and in numerous other leadership positions on the state and national level. Dr. Barnett is also a Fellow of six APA divisions, is a Distinguished Practitioner of the National Academies of Practice, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. An active advocate on behalf of the profession of psychology, Dr. Barnett has received numerous awards including: The AAP’s Outstanding Advocate Award, APA’s State Leadership Award, and APA’s Karl F. Heiser Presidential Award for Advocacy. An active leader and participant in advocacy activities and initiatives, he currently serves as administrator of the Heiser Award program. Email - drjbarnett1@comcast.net. Jean Carter, Ph.D. - Secretary-Treasurer Dr. Jean Carter maintains a psychotherapy practice in Washington, DC, with particular emphases on serious trauma and on the integration of career/work issues with psychological processes. As a member of the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice, secretary of Psychologists in Independent Practice (Division 42 of APA), co-chair of the National Academies of Practice in Psychology, and president of the Division of Counseling Psychology, she has wide-ranging knowledge of practice issues for psychologists. Her work has been recognized through being named Fellow in APA’s Divisions 17, 29 and 42, an APA Presidential Citation for initiatives on the integration of APA "); array_files[52]=new Array(0,2,"./flash_text.txt","2008-08-10","0K","flash_text.txt ","","","&main_01_A=Working together, we CAN make a difference! &main_01_B=See you at APA in Boston! &main_02=AAP needs your support! &main_03=Join AAP today! "); array_files[53]=new Array(0,2,"./readme.txt","2007-08-11","1K","readme.txt ","","","Search engine files: search.html - search query page, you can edit this file to customize the search box, or you can copy search box scripts to other html file; searchresult.html - search result page, you can edit this file to customize the search result page; searchfunc.js - search function scripts, do not modify it; searchdb.js - search engine database file, do not modify it; searchindex.js - search engine keyword database file, do not modify it. To add site search to your online web site, do the following: 1. Upload search engine files to the web server, using any FTP client (e.g., CuteFTP). 2. run search.html to access the search query page. You can also copy the form in this file to other web page to access the search box. To make an offline search engine, do the following: 1. Copy search engine files to the appropriate directory. 2. run search.html to access the search query page. You can also copy the form in this file to other web page to access the search box. "); array_files[54]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_winter_2007.pdf","2007-01-05","523K"," 04868 aap.qxd5 ","","","WINTER 2007 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Midterm Election Results Outlook for 2007 Healthcare Agenda Stephen M. Pfeiffer, Ph.D. AP/PLAN invested nearly 200,000 in the campaigns of candidates in the 2006 election cycle. Over 90% of the candidates in whom PLAN invested won their races, and 93% of PLAN dollars invested went to winners. The percentage of dollars invested in winners would be even greater if not for the surprise upsets of two of psychologys staunchest supporters, Representatives Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Clay Shaw (R-FL), both of whom were senior members of the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH) won the Governors race in Ohio, becoming the first psychologist governor in the nations history. Rep. Tom Osborne A (R-NE), trained as an educational psychologist, lost a primary race for governor in Nebraska and will be leaving Congress in December. Congressmen/psychologists Brian Baird (D-WA) and Tim Murphy (RPA) easily won reelection in their respective districts. Rep. Diane Watson, M.A. (D-CA), a former school psychologist, also won reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives. Psychologists/legislators who won reelection in State Legislatures: Rep. Ruth Balser ­ MA Rep. Phil Barnhart ­ OR MIDTERM ELECTION RESULTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 AAP/PLAN Fall Fundraising Drive Update Psychologists response to the September AAP/PLAN fundraising campaign has been very encouraging. A solicitation letter for contributions to PLAN was mailed to all APA Practice Organization special assessment payers in the early Fall. In it, Russ Newman outlined the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed cuts in Medicare reimbursement rates for psychologists which combined would total 14%. To date, contributions from psychologists to PLAN for this specific campaign are running more than 15% higher than any of four other fund drives over the past three years. While the aggregate amount collected is still far bel "); array_files[55]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_fall_2006.pdf","2006-11-04","4663K"," 03506 aap.qxd ","","","FALL 2006 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Humana Settles with Psychologists in the Florida Managed Care Class Action Litigation Alan Nessman, J.D. Special Counsel for Legal and Regulatory Affairs APA Practice Directorate fter a hearing on August 16th, federal judge Federico Moreno in Miami granted preliminary approval to settlement between Humana and the nationwide class of non-MD health care providers -- including psychologists -- in the Florida Managed Care Class Action. On December 1, 2006, the court will hold a fairness hearing to determine whether to give final approval to the settlement. Under the settlement, Humana will place 3.5 million in the settlement fund for class members and has AAP Membership Renewals in the Mail You should have received your 2007 AAP membership renewal form in the mail in early October. You can assist AAP by sending us your renewal form along with your dues check without delay. This helps AAP in several ways. It will reduce the costs for both postage and labor by eliminating the necessity of a second reminder. That way more of AAPs resources can be directed toward increasing advocacy efforts. Thanks for your help and support. A agreed to policy changes similar to those in CIGNAs prior settlement in this case (in late 2004). Assuming that the judge gives final approval in December, the settlement fund will be available to most psychologists who, between January 1990 and August 2006, performed services for patients insured by (or with plans administered by) Humana or the other defendants in the case: Aetna, HUMANA SETTLES CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 Medicare Cuts Proposed, Again; Your Action Is Needed Stephen M. Pfeiffer, Ph.D. ou recently received a letter from Dr. Russ Newman, APA Executive Director for Professional Practice, urging you to help psychology with yet another huge battle to sustain the viability of psychological services in Medicare. Please reply to Russ letter and be as generous as you "); array_files[56]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_summer_2006.pdf","2006-06-29","743K","aap_summer_2006.pdf ","","","SUMMER 2006 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization HIMMA Passage Blocked in Cloture Vote; Realtors Vow to Continue Grassroots Campaign Nanci C. Klein, PhD T he Senate on May 11 blocked the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (HIMMA) (S. 1955) that would have allowed small businesses to create association health plans exempt from state consumer protection laws, including mental health parity, psychology freedom of choice, mental health benefit mandates, and mandated offering laws. The measure was defeated in a 55-43 vote, falling five votes short of the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and limit debate. Invoking cloture ends debate, allowing a bill to proceed to a vote; failure to limit debate usually dooms legislation. The vote mostly followed along party lines with some exceptions. The bill, sponsored by Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair, Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY), was the focus of intense grassroots activity, both in support and opposition. Supporters of the bill, including the Bush administration, argued it would help more small businesses offer health insurance coverage by freeing them from having to comply with expensive and varying state requirements. The National Association of Realtors (NAR), meeting in Washington, D.C., on May 13 after the Senate cloture vote, resolved to continue its campaign HIMMA CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 Senator Mary Landrieu To Be Honored At Century Club Reception This years Century Club Reception will be held in New Orleans on Saturday, August 12th from 6 ­ 7:30 pm at the Plimsoll Club in the World Trade Center located at 2 Canal Street. All AAP members who have contributed at least 100 to AAP/ PLAN during the calendar year will receive an invitation in the mail to attend this event. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), a longtime supporter of mental health matters, has been selected as this years AAP Advocacy Award Honoree and will be in attendance. AAP "); array_files[57]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_spring_2006.pdf","2006-06-29","663K","aap_spring_2006.pdf ","","","SPRING 2006 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization HIMMA Jettisons State Consumer and Mental Health Protections Nanci C. Klein, PhD AAP Advocacy Award Recipient S . 1955, The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, or HIMMA, was successfully voted out the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on March 15. Emerging from a highly contentious markup, the legislation, introduced by Chairman Michael B. Enzi (R-WY), radically undermines state-regulated health insurance markets by preempting state insurance laws not just in the small group market, but also in the individual and large group markets. HIMMA would allow small businesses to join together and offer coverage that does not comply with state mandates if the small business associations give another choice that mirrors the benefits included in the state government employee health plans in one of the five most populous states: California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois. Thirty-nine State mental health parity laws, 32 State minimum mental health benefit or mandated offering laws, and 42 State and the District of Columbia psychology freedom of choice laws would be preempted. Cancer, preventive care, diabetes care, rehabilitation, HIMMA CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) See Movers and Shakers for details Dean of Political Pundits Speaks at APA State Leadership Conference Everything You Wanted to Know About the Mid-term Elections Stephen M. Pfeiffer, PhD C harlie Cook, widely regarded as one of the nations leading authorities on U.S. elections and political trends was the keynote speaker at a plenary session of the annual APA Practice Organizations State Leadership Conference in March. Cooks appearance was part of what has become a regular feature at the SLC since the formation of the Practice Organization five years ago. The topic of political giving has been a highlight at each of the last five SLCs during a plenar "); array_files[58]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_fall_2001.pdf","2006-06-29","841K","aap_fall_2001.pdf ","","","FALL 2001 Association for the Advancement of Psychology HHS Bolsters Efforts In Aftermath of Terrorist Attacks T wo days after terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced in New York City that the department would provide at least 2.5 million in initial grants to the city to help provide child care, elderly assistance, mental health care and other community services, the Washington Post reports. The grants include 1 million for community mental health centers in the New York City area, 1 million for a number of social and community services in New York City and 500,000 for services for seniors. We want New Yorkers to know that we will do everything we can to help in the healing process, Thompson said. Thompson also said that Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in lower Manhattan who have difficulty obtaining health services can call a new 24-hour hotline at 800-331-7767 for immediate help. Parents with children enrolled in Child Health Plus, New Yorks CHIP program, also can call the hotline with questions. The department has sent more than 400 medical and emergency staff members to New York to help local officials, and Thompson said that three mental health and crisis experts from the department will travel to the disaster sites to provide counseling. These devastating aerial attacks have shocked the nation into the realization that acts of massive, random, criminal violence cannot be relegated to some place `over there, Thompson said. HHS provided additional support yesterday, including: · HHS sent a National Medical Response Team to New York to help identify possible industrial chemicalrelated problems that may result from the collapse of buildings. · HHS sent a portable morgue from Houston, Texas, to Pennsylvania to assist in identification and AFTERMATH OF TERRORIST ATTACKS CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 Psychology Responds To U.S. Tragedy A s we all know, psychology and psychologists have much to contribute as the nation deals with the tragic events of Septemb "); array_files[59]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_winter_2006.pdf","2006-01-06","1222K"," 80715 aap newsletter.pdf ","","","WINTER 2006 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization APA Practice Directorate Achieves Increased Medicare Payments for Testing Services Diane Pedulla, J.D. Director of Regulatory Affairs APA Practice Directorate AAP Membership News 2006 AAP Membership Dues Renewal statements were sent out in early October 2005. Thanks to all of you who sent in your renewal checks promptly. For those members who overlooked their 2006 membership renewal, a second statement was sent out in December. AAP has received limited feedback that there may be some confusion about the need to pay for AAP membership since the advent of the Affiliation Agreement with the APA Practice Organization. While that Agreement has been very valuable for AAP from a strategic perspective and to coordinate advocacy activities more effectively, AAP continues to rely solely on AAPs resources from dues income to fund the operation of AAP activities and to operate AAP/PLAN, in the main. No financial support from the APA Practice Organization supplements either AAP or AAP/PLAN. Therefore, in order for AAP to continue to function at the same level to which you are accustomed, we must rely on your generosity in paying AAP membership dues AND making as generous a contribution as you can to AAP/ PLAN each year. T hanks to years of advocacy by the APA Practice Directorate, psychologists providing testing services will finally see their professional work reflected in the reimbursement they receive from Medicare in 2006. Effective January 1, seven new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) codes will take effect, allowing psychologists to more accurately bill for testing services. By awarding professional work values to the codes and including those values in the 2006 physician fee schedule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has acknowledged that psychological and neuropsychological testing services involve professional work. Up until now CMS has viewed testing by psycho "); array_files[60]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_winter_2005.pdf","2006-01-04","4786K"," 75222 AAP Winter 2004 ","","","WINTER 2005 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Oregon Psychological Association Hosts Fundraiser for Congressman Wu Cynthia K. Hansen, PhD, Federal Advocacy Coordinator, OPA PLEASE READ AAP has recently learned that some members are unclear about the implication of the 2004 APAPO fundraising solicitation letter for AAP/PLAN. Some members misconstrued APAPOs outreach on behalf of AAP/ PLAN to mean that AAP membership was no longer necessary. To the contrary, both your continued membership in AAP and your contributions to AAP/ PLAN are critical to the survival of psychologys political advocacy program. I t was a warm summer night, during the season when the sun sets about 9:00pm, when the first group of Oregon psychologists to host a fundraiser for a federal legislator gathered together. The back deck of OPA president Dr. Beth Westbrooks home had the feel of an adult treehouse, backing up to Washington Park where Oregonians run, walk and ramble along miles of trails year round. The evening was perfect for an outdoor reception. The stage had been set two months earlier at a meeting of the OPA president, president-elect, lobbyists, state legislative chair, BOPN and FAC. Dr. Cynthia K. Hansen, OPA FAC (l.) and Dr. Beth Westbrook, OPA President (r.) with Oregon Congressman David Wu at OPA fundraiser in Portland. Everyone knew Congressman David Wu (D-1st) had a proven track record of supporting psychologists issues on parity, patient rights, and opposition to Association Health Plans, and had worked with psychologists over the years on local issues such as distributing Road to Resilience brochures to anxious constituents. Congressman OREGON PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 Election 2004: AAP Hit Rate 93% in Congressional Races T he November election was a testament to what American sage, Bob Dylan, proclaimed in the 60s, the times they are a changin. I am referring specifically to the fact that the climate for electing a "); array_files[61]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_winter_2004.pdf","2006-01-04","9924K"," AAP Fall 2004 ","","","WINTER 2004 APA Champions Psychology on Capitol Hill Norman B. Anderson, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer, American Psychological Association Dr. Jerry H. Clark October 25, 1912 ­ September 18, 2003 Richard Steinberg, Ph.D. T o help fulfill our mission to advance psychology as a science and profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare, APA sponsors an advocacy program that is the largest and most visible national presence furthering the interests of psychology. Our efforts are guided by the commitment to apply knowledge derived from psychological research and clinical practice to the formulation of sound public policy. APAs advocacy efforts are carried out by the Government Relations Office for the Practice Organization and by the Public Policy Office for the Public Interest, Education, and Science Directorates. APA has successfully advanced key psychology issues and has gained strong supporters for psychology in Congress and in federal agencies. I welcome the opportunity to highlight some recent accomplishments across APA directorates, so you can learn how APAs efforts are helping to inform public policy and to foster greater appreciation for psychology on Capitol Hill in the process. Practice Advocacy The Practice Organizations concerted effort to win passage of a full mental health parity law to end discriminatory mental health coverage by private health plans has been building steam since pas- sage of an important but limited parity law in 1996. With a few other Norman B. groups, APA leads Anderson, Ph.D. the national effort to pass mental health parity in this Congress, gaining the support of 274 national organizations from the health, education, and social welfare advocacy communities. Grassroots efforts by the practice community, with great work by many APA members, have placed considerable pressure on Congress to enact parity legislation. We are hopeful that discriminatory coverage will soon end, since Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), paritys leading champion, is now working towa "); array_files[62]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_winter_2003.pdf","2006-01-04","614K"," AAP Winter 2003 ","","","WINTER 2003 Association for the Advancement of Psychology 2002 Psychologists for Wellstone: The Promise and the Grief Judith Stellar, Ph.D. American political campaigns require candidates to pull together enormously varied constituencies. Psychologists need to be on the constituency map. That happens when psychologists are involved, active, and visible ­ and put their money where their mouths are. My experience through fund-raising, lobbying, letter-writing, and being Minnesota Psychological Associations Federal Advocacy Coordinator, showed that Minnesota psychologists had built a working relationship with Senator Paul Wellstone. So, as the re-election campaign for Minnesotas senior U.S. Senator Judith Stellar, Ph.D. began in earnest in Spring, 2002, I became one of thousands of volunteers in his well-organized grassroots effort to continue building the relationship and to help re-elect the Senator. What follows are a series of impressions of the campaign, focusing on attempts to organize psychologists in support of the reelection campaign of this stalwart advocate for mental health. hen the 2002 Psychologists for Wellstone fund-raiser was planned in April, the campaign was just beginning to shift into high gear. The main campaign headquarters was still a cavernous second story of an old building with big spaces where volunteers would work and small offices filled with borrowed furniture for staff. Forecasts for the election were not putting volunteers at ease in the late days of spring. The national pollster who came to town to report on focus groups prepared the staff and volunteers to stay the course through a long campaign that probably would not be trending decisively, even at the end. Veteran Wellstone campaign leaders shook their heads and cautioned that, no matter how well the campaign might seem to be going, there would be surprises in the last weeks that could be important. That forecast was tragically accurate. Psychologists Fund-Raiser To swell the ranks of the fund-raiser at our home, we experiment "); array_files[63]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_winter_2002.PDF","2006-01-04","480K","aap_winter_2002.PDF ","","","WINTER 2002 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Mental Health Courts: A Personal Mission Congressman Ted Strickland Election Results AP is pleased to announce the results of its recent election to fill three open Board of Trustee positions. The newly elected Trustees will each serve four-year terms of office beginning on January 1, 2002. P ublic policy profoundly affects the lives of those on the margins of society, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Unfortunately, those who are marginalized seldom have a voice loud enough to successfully advocate for or against the policies that affect them so directly. As psychologists, we represent some of those people who have much to gain (or lose) in the lawmaking process. I believe that we psychologists have a responsibility to champion the needs of our clients in the public arena. For several years before I came to Congress I was a consulting psychol- ogist at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison. I have personally treated individuals who will live out the rest of their lives behind bars because they have committed crimes that they most likely would not have committed had they received adequate mental health treatment. I have seen the ravaging effect that a prison environment has on the mentally ill, and the destabilizing effect that the mentally ill have on a prison environment. MENTAL HEALTH COURTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 15 A Daniel Abrahamson, Ph.D. Daniel Abrahamson, Ph.D. has distinguished himself as a strong advocate for psychology both on the local level in Connecticut and on the national level with APA and AAP. He is the Administrative Director of the Traumatic Stress Institute/Center for Adult & Adolescent Psychotherapy in Connecticut. He is also the Director of Professional Affairs for the Connecticut Psychological Association. He is the APA Council Representative from Connecticut, as well as being the pastChair of both the APA Board of Professional Affairs and the Committee of State Leaders. ELECTION RESUL "); array_files[64]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_winter_2001.pdf","2006-01-04","190K"," AAP Winter 2001 ","","","WINTER 2001 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Managed Care Making Significant Policy Changes in Response to APA Test Case Lawsuits Cherrie Jones, JD Mental Health Courts Bill Becomes Law Editors Note: On Monday, November 13, 2000, President Clinton signed a bill that will establish 100 pilot Mental Health Courts to deal with mentally ill detainees charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent offenses Psychologist-member of Congress, Ted Strickland, (D-OH), sponsored S. 1865, Amaericas Law Enforcement and Mental Health Project Act, in the House of Representatives, and was instrumental in developing and pushing for the passage of this legislation. Representative Ted Strickland, Ph.D. s a psychologist, and perhaps the only member of Congress who has worked in a maximum security prison, I have personally treated individuals who will live out the rest of their lives behind bars because they have committed crimes that they most likely would not have committed had they been able to receive adequate mental health treatment. I have seen the ravaging effect that a prison environment has on the mentally ill, and the destabilizing effect that the mentally ill have on a prison environment. Inmates, families, guards, judges, prosecutors and police are in unique agreement that our broken system of punting the most seriously mentally ill to the criminal courts must be fixed. ForFrom left to right: Cherie Jones, Shirley Higuchi, Russ tunately, the 106th Congress took an important first step Newman, Alan Nessman and Sarah Allenby toward addressing this crisis by passing into law a mental health court pilot project which will fund 100 new mental nder the direction of Russ Newman, J.D., Ph.D., Execu- health courts for the diversion of mentally ill offenders out of tive Director for Professional Practice, and with the sup- jail and into voluntary treatment. On November 13, 2000, port of the Practice Directorates legal staff, headed by Shirley President Clinton signed into law S. 1865, Americas Law Higuchi, J.D., Assistant E "); array_files[65]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_summer_2005.pdf","2006-01-04","1189K"," 77928 AAP ","","","SUMMER 2005 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Congress Must Act to Avoid Cuts in Medicare Reimbursement Diane Pedulla, J.D. Director, Federal Regulatory Affairs, APA Practice Organization Century Club Announcement This years Century Club Reception held in conjunction with the APA annual convention in August will feature the appearance of AAPs 2005 Advocacy Honoree, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). With a Masters Degree in Social Work, Senator Stabenow has been a strong advocate for psychology and mental health issues during her tenure on Capitol Hill. She has been of great value in advancing psychologys legislative agenda during her years of public service. The reception will be held on Saturday, August 20th at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C. All AAP members who have contributed at least 100 to AAP/PLAN during the calendar year will be invited to attend this important event. To insure that you receive an invitation, be sure to make your contribution to AAP/PLAN early. payment issue in a reconciliation bill or a continuing resolution.I M edicare payments to psychologists and other health care professionals will be drastically reduced over the next six years unless Congress acts soon. The reason? Each year the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) must use a complicated formula to determine upcoming reimbursement rates. The nations economic growth, the cost of professional services, and even the number of beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare are all reflected in the formula, which is then used to determine final payment amounts for each service. Application of the formula for 2006 and beyond is going to negatively impact payment rates. Medicare reimbursement is projected to decrease by about 4.5% annually for the next six years. This means that by 2011, psychologists may receive less than 75% of what they are being paid today. And thats not taking into account inflation, which will erode the purchasing power of t "); array_files[66]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_summer_2004.pdf","2006-01-04","2469K"," AAP Summer 2004 ","","","SUMMER 2004 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization How Psychology Can Help Explain Iraqi Prisoner Abuse Editors Note: Given the global dimensions of the problems encountered at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the psychological factors involved in this debacle, the APA Science Directorate public policy staff have been working with Members of Congress to provide relevant information from psychological research about the situation. An APA sponsored Congressional Briefing on this matter is planned for early June. Following is a fact sheet prepared by the APA Public Policy Office. For more information, contact Heather OBeirne Kelly, Ph.D., APA Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer. mericans were shocked by the photos of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners, and now many want to know why seemingly normal people could behave so sadistically. Psychologists who study torture say most of us could behave this way under similar circumstances. Q: What can the Stanford prison and Milgram experiments tell us about what has been happening in Iraq? How do these experiments help to explain what we have seen in the photos out of the Abu Ghraib prison? A: Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo, who led the Stanford prison study in which two dozen college students were randomly selected to play the roles of prisoners or guards in a simulated jail, believes that his experiment has striking similarities to the Abu Gharib prison situation. I have exact, parallel pictures of naked prisoners with bags PRISONER ABUSE CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 Annual AAP Membership Meeting The annual general membership meeting of AAP will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sunday, August 1, 2004 from 1-2 p.m. in the Sea Pearl Suite VI at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort. All members and interested parties are invited. A Senate Parity Supporters Poised for Action Editors Note: Due to official ceremonies in honor of President Reagan, the Mental Health PARITY NOW rally at the U.S. Capitol s "); array_files[67]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_summer_2003.pdf","2006-01-04","459K"," AAP Summer 2003 ","","","SUMMER 2003 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Congressional Caucus Formed to Raise Awareness on Mental Health Issues Representative Timothy F. Murphy (R-18th-PA) s a newly elected Member of Congress, one of my first efforts was to put my experience as a psychologist to use by founding the Congressional Mental Health Caucus (CMHC). The CMHC focuses on mental health concerns that face our nation and will serve as a bipartisan forum where Members of Congress can share ideas and work together to pursue common legislative goals and raise awareness about important mental health issues. The CMHC is an active group of 72 House Members who share a deep commitment towards improving public awareness and passing legislation to improve treatment and prevention. We are fortunate to have three psychologists in Congress as founding Caucus members. Rep. Ted Strickland of Ohio and Rep. Brian Baird of Washington State joined me in creating the Caucus, ensuring bipartisan and national representation. I am proud to serve as Co-Chair of the CMHC with my colleague Rep. Grace Napolitano of California. A In todays society, untreated mental health conditions have Rep. Timothy F. Murphy an enormous impact on individuals, their families, and communities. For a class of disorders more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease, we have far to go to meet the needs of the millions of Americans trying to cope with mental illness. The Caucus main focus for the future is to raise awareness among Members and the public. Along with awareness, we plan on creating legislation on mental health issues that touch such citizens as our veterans, homeless and children, and how we provide treatment for them. Supporting other policies that coincide with better mental health for the population is also on the schedule. The Caucus has a robust agenda. During National Suicide Awareness Week, the Caucus led an hour of speeches on the AWARENESS ON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Medical Necessity: Cost Control or Lost Access William L. W "); array_files[68]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_summer_2002.pdf","2006-01-04","385K"," AAP Summer 2002 ","","","SUMMER 2002 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Giving Psychology Away­ An Interview with Dr Phil Zimbardo EDITORS NOTE: Dr. Philip Zimbardo, a longstanding AAP member, is the current APA President. He has been Professor of Psychology at Stanford University for over thirty years. He has authored more than 200 articles and has received numerous awards for writing, teaching, and research. Although he authored a best-selling book entitled, Shyness, Dr. Zimbardo is far from shy when discussing his passions. Zimbardos first professional love for teaching is balanced by two other deep concerns. The first is generating knowledge through original research. The second is giving psychology away to the public by: a) doing research that is readily translatable and appreciated by the general public, b) by trying to communicate directly with non-academic audiences through mass media, and c) by establishing a community Shyness Clinic and Shyness Institute. Dr. Zimbardo places great emphasis on having fun in whatever activity one undertakes. After spending only a few minutes with Dr. Zimbardo, it becomes abundantly clear that he not only preaches the benefits to be derived from aspiring to fun, but that he incorporates fun throughout his own life experience. Dr. Zimbardo graciously agreed to respond to a few questions posed to him by Dr. Steve Pfeiffer, AAPs Executive Director. Following is the transcript of that conversation. Advocates Launch Effort to Pass Mental Health Parity Bill H oping to transform the oppressive heat outside the Capitol into similarly intense heat of a political sort inside the building, advocates of mental health parity legislation drew a crowd estimated at 2,000 to a noontime rally on June 6. The American Psychological Association Practice Organization Government Relations Office (APAPO) arranged for psychologists from eight key states to visit with their Congressional Offices and to participate in the rally. While many rallies held outside the Capitol seem anemic and fabricated, the June 6 "); array_files[69]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_summer_2001.pdf","2006-01-04","285K"," AAP Summer 2001 ","","","SUMMER 2001 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Prescription Privileges For Psychologists: The New Mexico Experience E. Mario Marquex, Ph.D with Elaine LeVine, Ph.D and Joe Kupfer E. Mario Marquex, Ph.D Medical Records Privacy Final Rule Becomes Law Editors Note: The following is the text of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Action Alert from Marilyn Richmond, Assistant Executive Director for Government Relations, announcing the finalization of the medical records privacy rule. The action alert text is followed by a summary of pertinent aspects of the rule relevant to psychology practitioners. D uring our 2001 legislative session, New Mexico came within an eyelash of becoming the first state in the Union to grant prescriptive authority to appropriately trained psychologists. We batted a thousand during the legislative process, winning in two House committees and a historical 37-21 victory in the House of Representatives. We won two spectacular battles in the powerful Senate Public Affairs Committee comprised of the Chairman and two medical doctors adamantly opposed to our bill. These five victories, each one more critical and emotional than the previous, opened the door for a final battle on the Senate floor. However, through much political maneuvering by the opposition, our bill was never brought to a vote on the Senate floor, even though we believe we had the necessary votes to win. One of the factors that helped us accomplish as much as we did was our intense effort toward consensus and support, first among our colleagues and, secondly, in our communities. We actually began our prescriptive authority efforts about eight years ago. At that time, members of the New Mexico Psychological Association had many concerns about the prescriptive privilege agenda, and many did not support it. We learned early that much of the doubtfulness about the prescriptive authority agenda came from a lack of information. We conducted several surveys and a state conference on prescriptive autho "); array_files[70]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_summer2000.pdf","2006-01-04","227K"," Advance Summer 00 (20) ","","","SU M M E R 2000 A CAPITAL COMMENTARY U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) y job as Congressm an is a rather new one for me. I am a licensed clinical psychologist, and for the 23 years prior to my election to Congress, I worked with mental health issues on a daily basis just as each of you does. As one of only two psychologists currently serving in the House of Representatives, I have a unique perspective. And I take the responsibility of looking out for the interests of those with mental health dis- Association for the Advancement of Psychology M orders, and those who treat them, very seriously. In Congress, exchanges about mental health disorders are unlike discussions of other diagnosable and treatable disorders; they are Americas hidden illnesses--simply because no one wants to talk about them. We are all familiar with the statistics: one in every five adults, or about 40 million Americans, experience some type of mental disorder every year. Of this number, more than one-half (or 10 percent of the population) have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder. Mental disorders cross all boundaries of race, gender and ethnicity. Elderly Americans are the demographic group most likely to commit suicide. Young people-- ages 15 to 24-- are more likely to have mental disorders than other age groups. Among children, it is estimated that one in every five children and adolescents may have a mental health problem that can be identified and treated. At least one in 20 children--or as many as 3 million children--may have a serious emotional disturbance. Yet no one talks about it. A CAPITAL COMMENTARY, CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 M ENTAL H EALTH IITIATIVES O N N M OVE I N CONGRESS U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland (DOH) espite the shortened session of Congress and apparent gridlock on issues such as the Patients Bill of Rights and Medicare prescription drug coverage, there are several new and potentially groundbreaking initiatives in the arena of mental health that are gaining momentum on Capitol Hill. "); array_files[71]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_spring_2005.pdf","2006-01-04","4929K"," AAP Spring 2005 ","","","SPRING 2005 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Political Advocacy Comes of Age At 2005 State Leadership Conference Stephen M. Pfeiffer, PhD PLAN Fundraising Drive Begins Be on the lookout for a letter from the APA Practice Organizations (APAPO) Russ Newman. After the success of last years joint APAPO/ AAP fundraising drive for AAP/ PLAN, Russ Newman recently sent a 2005 letter to almost 40,000 Special Assessment payers requesting that they make a contribution to AAP/ PLAN. The letter makes a compelling case for why every psychologist should contribute to PLAN. Please read his letter and be as generous as you can be with your own contribution to PLAN. Then, do a huge service to psychology by urging as many of your colleagues as you can to make a donation, too. If every AAP member recruited just one new contributor, our PAC strength would triple. Tell them, Even a little bit will help. T he APA Practice Organization has hosted an annual State Leadership Conference (SLC) for more than 20 years. Having attended the last 16 of these conferences, I must say that this year the four days of advocacy training was, to my way to thinking, the best developed program yet. The large number of attendees exposed to the broad range of training workshops is in itself impressive, having expanded from less than 100 to nearly 600 of psychologys leaders over the course of the last two decades. But what makes the conference unique to those who understand the critical ingredients involved in effective advocacy for the profession, is that the primary focus of the weekend is to make psychologys voice heard in the halls of the U.S. Congress. The four days of training culminates with every participant personally carrying psychologys legislative agenda [see APAPO 2005 Agenda story in this edition of Advance], upon which they have been comprehensively briefed for three days, to over 300 members of Congress in their Capitol Hill offices. Over the course of t "); array_files[72]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_spring_2004.pdf","2006-01-04","1337K","aap_spring_2004.pdf ","","","SPRING 2004 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Rep. Jim Ramstad Honored for Mental Health Leadership APAPO State Leadership Conference Features Paul Begala of CNNs Crossfire U .S. Representative Jim Ramstad (R-MN), Congressional honoree at the 2004 American Psychological Association Practice Organization State Leadership Conference announced that its time for Congress and the President to act and end discrimination against people with mental health disorders and pass mental health parity legislation. U.S. Representative The American people should Jim Ramstad (R-MN) not be forced to wait any longer for Congress to knock down the barriers to treatment for mental illness, said Ramstad. Congress must hear their call and pass the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Treatment Act this year. Passing this mental health parity bill is not only the right thing to do; its also the cost-effective thing to do. Ramstad was honored with the American Psychological Associations (APA) Outstanding Leadership Award for his strong commitment to mental health parity and other mental health issues. The award was presented in Washington, D.C. before an audience of practicing psychologists from the United States and Canada. APA applauds Rep. Ramstads leadership and longRAMSTAD HONORED CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 T he 2004 APA State Leadership Conference (SLC) featured some highly visible political commentators who helped to energize the central mission of the conference. The fundamental theme of SLC is to enhance the APA Practice Organizations advocacy efforts along with its legislative agenda which are enriched by a large grassroots lobbying effort on Capitol Hill occurring on the concluding day of the conference. Paul Begala, J.D., co-host of CNNs Crossfire, was the keynote speaker at a plenary session focusing on the importance of political giving. Begala served as White House counselor to President Clinton and is currently a research professor of government and p "); array_files[73]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_spring_2003.pdf","2006-01-04","1352K"," AAP Spring 2003 ","","","SPRING 2003 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Curing Health Care: A Universal Solution Senator John Breaux Editors Note: Senator John Breaux was honored on March 2, 2003 at an AAP Leadership Circle Dinner in Washington, D.C. The following outlines the health care reform solution he unveiled in January, 2003 in a speech before the National Health Policy Conference and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D. C PAC Power­ The Importance of Political Giving Editors Note: Dr. Larry Sabato was a keynote speaker at the recent APA Practice Organization State Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. Dr. Larry Sabato The title above is, in fact, the title of his presentation. His speech to the 500 SLC attendees was most inspirational and should be disseminated to all our colleagues who have yet to see the light with regard to the value of political giving. Highlights of his remarks are presented below. We encourage you to pass them on to a colleague, along with an AAP membership application. Larry Sabato is the Director of the University of Virginias Center for Politics, former Rhodes Scholar and Danforth Fellow. He holds a Doctorate in Politics from Oxford. Among his 21 published books are: PAC Power: Inside the World of Political Action Committees; The Partys Just Begun: Shaping Political Parties for Americas Future; Over-Time: The Election 2002 Thriller; Peep Show: Media and Politics in an Age of Scandal. Dr. Sabato has served on the National Commission for the Renewal of American Democracy and on the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Reform. He has been described by the Wall Street Journal as probably the most quoted college professor in the land. PAC POWER CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Senator John Breaux I t has become something of a cliché to say that Americas healthcare system is in crisis. But crisis is altogether the right word. Last year alone, Americans saw health premiums go up nearly 13%, the largest increase in a decade for those with employer-sponsored health insurance. Meanwhile, the number of "); array_files[74]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_spring_2002.pdf","2006-01-04","181K"," 59029 AAP ","","","SPRING 2002 Association for the Advancement of Psychology VICTORY: An Insiders View of New Mexicos Legislative Success E. Mario Marquez, Ph.D., FICPP New Mexico Psychological Association Legislative Chair Health Care Crisis Looming: T he successful 2002 New Mexico prescription privileges for appropriately trained psychologists legislative effort began at the end of the 2001 New Mexico legislative session. On that last dreadful day of the forty-fourth session in March 2001, while we were continuing to lobby for a vote on the Senate floor, and hopeful that it was still possible, the session ended abruptly at noon. Following the close, a few of us walked on to the Senate floor to thank our supporters, wish them well, and get their advice on how we might pursue the effort again the following year. Several Senators mentioned to us they were sorry we did not get a vote, said we got caught in the crossfire, and commended us for our effort. Some advised that we begin to lobby the Governor to call up the bill during the next session. As we mentioned last year, the disappointment was undeniable, but we felt we had established a foundation with the legislators, garnered some legislative momentum, and we were determined to get the job done. VICTORY IN NEW MEXICO CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 Psychology Well Equipped To Intervene Stephen M. Pfeiffer, Ph.D. I New Mexico Governor Signs Landmark Law On Prescription Privileges For Psychologists s the health care system in this country on the verge of collapse? Take a look at some of the variables underlying the system, and collapse may not appear to be too far off the mark, hysterical as that may seem. The process leading up to this critical situation has been percolating for over a decade. Advance has regularly reported about the growing problems with the American health care delivery system since 1990. The problems seem to now be aligned in such a way that an eruption appears inevitable. This article will attempt to provide you with what I believe are the fundamental problems in our cu "); array_files[75]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_spring_2001.pdf","2006-01-04","272K"," AAP Spring 2001 ","","","SPRING 2001 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Psychology Meets Public Policy Congressman Brian Baird n many ways, this is an encouraging time for those of us concerned about mental health issues. Many new treatments are available to help patients ease their struggle with mental illnesses. More talented men and women in the field of psychology are becoming researchers, teachers and clinicians. And while Hollywood and the television industry have a way to go before becoming full-fledged allies in advancing mental health issues, they have made strides in more accurately portraying those who suffer from mental illness and those who treat individuals who are ill. As a clinical psychologist, I hope that the increasing acceptance of mental health issues in popular culture makes more people more likely to seek these new treatments, and therefore lead healthier lives. As a Congressman, I applaud those who have worked hard to bring issues involving mental illness and mental health into the public debate, and I pledge to continue to be an unswerving advocate for that cause. In Congress, I am working on a two-pronged strategy in support of mental health. I am pushing initiatives aimed at increasing awareness about mental illness and mental health, and fighting for programs that will ensure access to mental health services for more Americans. Patients Rights 2001 McCain-Ganske Patient Protection Legislation Introduced in 107th Congress I Raising Awareness To raise awareness on mental health issues, I have helped establish two Congressional caucuses -- one focused on health and behavioral issues and one targeted specifically on methamphetamine abuse and addiction. I am also fighting to increase funding for mental health research. I am working with Congressman Ed Towns (NY) to establish the Congressional Caucus on Health and Behavior. According to the Center for Disease and Control, six of the leading causes of death are behaviorally based (substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, smoking, accidents, and violence). This caucus "); array_files[76]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_fall_2005.pdf","2006-01-04","1350K"," AAP Fall 2005 REV ","","","FALL 2005 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Mental Health Care Needed for Returning Soldiers Representative Brian Baird (D-WA) Editor s Note: Congressman Brian Baird is a former clinical psychologist now representing Washingtons Third Congressional District. For more information on how you can help our veterans, contact the Office of Congressman Baird at (360) 695-6292 or (360) 352-9768. AAP ELECTION s mental health providers, we know all too well the unique hardships returning military service members face. A 2004 New England Journal of Medicine study found that 17% of service members returning from Iraq had experienced symptoms of depression, anxiety, or PTSD. The study also showed that of those affected, less than 40% received the mental health care treatment they needed. I have met with countless veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as with veterans from prior wars. Many tell me they are not getting the mental health care they need and deserve. I believe it is important for psychologists to be aware of the challenges facing returning veterans and to play a role in ensuring that those who have served A our nation receive the care they have earned through their service. This issue is particularly relevant to me because, before serving in Congress, I worked as a clinical psychologist in VA hospitals and outpatient clinics, helping veterans recover from both the physical scars and the emotional wounds of combat. Unfortunately, veterans programs continue to be under-funded and veterans continue to go without the mental and physical health care they need. The administration argues that VA funding has increased in recent years, which is true, but the increase has not kept pace with inflation and growth in enrollees. As a result, in 2003, the Bush Administration abruptly cut off access to VA health care for many veterans with non service-connected dis- Ballot on Back Page. abilities, denying some 500,0 "); array_files[77]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_fall_2004.pdf","2006-01-04","3832K"," AAP Fall 2004 ","","","FALL 2004 Association for the Advancement of Psychology Affiliate of the American Psychological Association Practice Organization Boston Journal: An Inside Look at the 2004 Democratic National Convention Peter Newbould, Director of Congressional & Political Affairs, American Psychological Association Practice Organization Editors Note: This was the eighth Democratic National Convention that Peter has attended. from retired generals and admirals, led by former Joint Chiefs Chairman John Shalikashvili. This focus was so predominant that humorist Dave Barry described the Tuesday theme as Making America Stronger Through the Strength of Strongness. Ironically, for all that message preparation, public opinion surveys showed that Kerry received only a small bounce of support after the Convention. Pundits surmised that, unlike in past elections, this 2004 electorate is closely divided, with so few undecideds that there were fewer voters available to be swayed. Post-Convention national polls showed Kerry and Bush enjoying almost equal support. AAP Membership Renewals in the Mail You can assist AAP by sending in your 2005 membership renewal without delay. This helps AAP in several ways. It will reduce both the postage cost of future reminder mailings and the labor costs of those mailings. Thanks for your help. At the Democratic Convention I volunteered on the Podium Operations Team as a speaker tracker, the same job I had at the 2000 Convention. My task was to deliver each assigned body with a minimum of stress. This involved contacting each speakers staff to make sure the text was being sent to the DNC speechwriting staff for vetting, arranging an on-site rehearsal with a speech coach BOSTON JOURNAL CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 T he Washington Post was right on the mark when it wrote that John Kerrys goal for the Democratic National Convention was to turn broad dissatisfaction with Bushs presidency into stronger support for his own candidacy. Kerrys people achieved an unprecedented unity of message -- optimism and strength and "); array_files[78]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_fall_2003.pdf","2006-01-04","1585K"," 68679 AAP.qxp ","","","FALL 2003 Association for the Advancement of Psychology APA Practice Organization and AAP Forge Historic Affiliation ugust 9, 2003 marks a very significant date for psychologists who appreciate the importance of political advocacy for promoting psychologys legislative agenda. On this date in Toronto, the American Psychological Association Practice Organization (APAPO) and the Association Ron Fox, AAP Chair, Russ Newman, APAPO for the Advancement of Psy- Executive Director, and Steve Pfeiffer, AAP Executive chology (AAP) signed a for- Director, celebrate affiliation agreement. mal Affiliation Agreement, APAPOs legislative advocacy mission. thereby launching political advocacy for APAPO deploys a high quality lobbypsychology into a new era. ing team and AAP provides the camThe new affiliation between the two organizations has been in the works for several years and required only minor changes in both organizations legal structures before it could come to fruition. The formal affiliation is a natural progression of the joint activities of the two organizations made possible by the creation of the APAPO, almost three years ago. AAP was created in 1974, founded by the American Psychological Association (APA) in recognition that in order for psychology to be effectively involved in federal legislative matters, its own advocacy organization was mandatory. Remember, APA was then and is now prohibited from any political activities whatsoever based on its tax exempt organization status with the IRS. Thus AAP came into being. AAPs raison detre [to promote the science and profession of psychology, through, among other means, representation of psychologists before public and governmental bodies, including Congress and the federal Executive Branch] is the perfect complement to paign support to candidates needed to help the lobbying team gain greater access to lawmakers. The affiliation agreement recognizes these historical ties between APAPO and AAP, including joint efforts to advocate issues on behalf of practicing psycholo "); array_files[79]=new Array(0,4,"./pdf/advance_archives/aap_fall_2002.pdf","2006-01-04","588K"," AAP Fall 2002 ","","","FALL 2002 Association for the Advancement of Psychology AAP Targets Races To Watch On November 5th Tim Murphy Changes in the national political electoral environment are about as easy to predict as the rise and fall of the stock market. Many attempt to do so, but few if any are consistently accurate. Given that currently there is only a one seat Democratic margin in the Senate, and only a six seat gain by Democrats would shift control in the House, November 5th will most likely prove to be a most memorable day in the history of American politics. With so much riding on the upcoming mid-term elections, Advance thought it would be stimulating to provide AAPers with a list of races to watch on election day that are thought to be both important nationally because of their potential impact on changing control of Congress, and because the outcome of the race is important to psychologys legislative agenda THE HOUSE Ted Strickland (D-OH-6) ­ First psychologist elected to Congress. Brian Baird Brian Baird (D-WA-3) ­ Second Psychologist elected to Congress. Tim Murphy (R-PA-18) ­ A clinical psychologist, he will likely win in his first attempt for national office. Karen Thurman (D-FL-5) ­ Major supporter of Medicare GME has very tough race as a result of redistricting. Nancy Johnson (R-CT-5) ­ High ranking Ways and Means Committee member and friend to psychology has tough race against another incumbent as a result of redistricting. Ted Strickland RACES TO WATCH CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Washington Update: Mental Health Advocacy Inside the Beltway The Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) met on September 6, 2002 (see story on MHLG inside this issue of Advance). The following are highlights from Dr. Robert Nichols report to AAP of the range and depth of issues and actions considered by this lead coalition group on mental health advocacy in Washington. Dr. Nichols is AAPs liaison to the MHLG, and Peter Newbould of the American Psychological Association Government Relations Office currently serves as co-chair of the MHLG Policy Comm "); file_count=80;