Alexandria, Va., June 26, 2007 - On Monday, June 25, 2007, the Louisiana House of Representatives, by a vote of 97-0, passed legislation to add the term "psychotherapy" to the law regulating the practice of mental health counseling in the state. S. 110, originally introduced by Sen. Donald E. Hines, M.D. (D) was unanimously passed by the Senate on June 13, 2007, by a vote of 39 to 0. The bill has now been referred to Governor Kathleen Babineaux (D), who is expected to sign the legislation in the near future.
Passage of S. 110 will address an issue that arose late in 2006 when TriSpan Health Services, Medicare's fiscal intermediary in Louisiana, began refusing to reimburse Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) in partial hospitalization settings under Medicare. According to the 2006 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Manual, state-licensed mental health professionals can be utilized for individual and group therapy, as well as family counseling. The statute regulating the provision of these services (42 CFR 410.43) specifically allows individual and group therapy with physicians or psychologists or other mental health professionals to the extent authorized under State law. TriSpan made its decision to stop reimbursing mental health counselors because the term "psychotherapy" was not included in Louisiana's statute regulating the practice of mental health counseling.
AMHCA first became aware of the issue after hearing from counselors in the state, who had lost positions due to Trispan's decision. The issue also affects mental health counselors in Mississippi and Missouri, where the term "psychotherapy" is not specified in either of these states laws.
Upon hearing that S. 110 had passed the House and Senate, AMHCA President-elect Gary Gintner, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, a counselor educator in Louisiana, said, "AMHCA is pleased that the legislature has clarified the law regulating mental health counselors to include psychotherapy. Passage of the bill will allow mental health counselors to continue to provide needed services to Louisiana citizens who suffer from mental illness and will open new employment opportunities for counselors in our state."
The Louisiana Mental Health Counselors Association (LMHCA), the Louisiana Counseling Association (LCA), the Louisiana chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-LA) and the Louisiana Association of Ambulatory Healthcare worked collaboratively to address the issue. National groups, including AMHCA, the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) also worked together on the issue.