The last few months have seen significant movement across a broad array of issues.
APA-Led Activities
APA Listening Session on Proposals for the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program
Join us on Friday, July 26 from 12:00 - 12:45 p.m. ET for a listening session where you can provide your feedback on how the proposed changes to the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program could impact your practice. APA staff will highlight the key proposals and gather your insights and perspectives which will be used to inform APA’s written response to CMS. Click here to register.
Advocacy Update Webinar
Join the Division of Advocacy, Policy, and Practice Advancement on July 30 from 12:00 - 12:45 p.m. ET to hear the latest updates on APA’s federal, state, and regulatory advocacy. Learn what is happening in Washington, D.C. and the states and how you can fuel our advocacy efforts to create impactful change for our profession and patients. Click here to register.
Executive Branch Activities
APA Meets with Biden Administration on Telehealth Flexibilities
On June 11, APA met with staff from the White House Domestic Policy Council to discuss permanency of the COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities that are set to expire at the end of 2024. APA shared data and member feedback advocating to retain the option to treat patients via telemedicine technologies without a prior in-person visit and payment parity for telepsychiatry visits.
APA Provides Valuable Input on the Use of Behavioral Health Data
The United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) is a standardized set of health data classes and constituent data elements for nationwide, interoperable health information exchange. The Office of National Coordinator (ONC) maintains these data sets and solicits feedback and suggestions for data elements annually. In its letter, APA recommended that DSM-5 be included as an applicable standard for coding behavioral health conditions in USCDI v4 as well as other recommendations.
APA Provides Input on Health Equity Framework
"Advancing Health Equity by Design (HEBD) and Health Information Technology: Proposed Approach, Invitation for Public Input, and Call to Action" is a proposal by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to address health disparities. The goal is to ensure that technology is designed and implemented in a way that anticipates, avoids, and reduces health disparities, rather than exacerbating them. This includes designing for the diversity of uses and users and promoting health equity through the lifecycle of technologies. APA provided input stressing the importance of rural communities and providers who lack resources, unequal access to broadband and affordable connectivity, patient education to reduce the digital divide and other priorities.
Congressional Activities
APA Urges Senate Working Group to Expand GME for Psychiatry
A bipartisan group of members of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Medicare Graduate Medical Education program, released a Medicare GME Working Group draft proposal outline (.pdf) focusing on several key policy issues. The proposal, led by Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OT) and seven colleagues, seeks to address physician workforce shortages, challenges faced by rural and other underserved communities to accessing care, barriers to rural physician training, improved data collection and transparency. The proposal notably looked to add an undetermined amount of new Medicare GME slots from FY 2027-2031 with at least 15% to psychiatry or psychiatry subspecialties. APA has provided the working group feedback and recommended that no fewer than 400 new slots be allocated to psychiatry annually. A formal discussion draft is anticipated by the end of July. APA’s full response may be viewed here.
APA Urges Congress to Invest in Mental Health Parity Enforcement in FY25
Alongside partners in the Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) parity working group, APA continues to meet with Congressional appropriators to strongly recommend funding for enforcement and oversight through the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Service Administration (EBSA). Mental health parity remains a key priority of APA’s advocacy for the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) appropriations cycle.
APA Endorses Legislation to Improve Prior Authorization in Medicare Advantage
APA continues to support efforts to reduce administrative burdens for psychiatrists and has endorsed the reintroduced Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 8702/S.4532). This legislation is a revised version of legislation from the 117th Congress that passed in the House but failed to move forward after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessed its cost at $16 billion. The new legislation builds on recently implemented final rules for the use of prior authorization by MA (Medicare Advantage) plans and is expected to have a significantly lower CBO score. If enacted, the legislation would require MA plans to establish an electronic prior authorization process, increase transparency around prior authorization requirements, and also clarify CMS’s authority to adopt timeframes for MA plans to notify providers and enrollees of prior authorization decisions.
State Advocacy Activities
Governor of Arizona Stops Psilocybin legislation From Proceeding
Arizona Governor Hobbs vetoed legislation that would regulate and license psychedelic-assisted therapy centers in the state allowing individuals to use psilocybin under directed supervision. Governor Hobbs cited a “lack of evidence needed to support clinical expansion” in her veto letter. This supports the APA position that there is currently inadequate scientific evidence for endorsing the use of psychedelics to treat any psychiatric disorder except within the context of approved investigational studies. APA continues to assist DB/SAs in voicing patient safety concerns in response to related legislative proposals. Additionally the bill had a large fiscal impact that was not funded for Fiscal Year 2025. For more information, contact [email protected].