Educate Congress and the Biden Administration on the Need to Access and Preserve Psychological Services

Take action today by sending messages to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and your Member of Congress to protect access to psychological services in 2025. Each note is important and addresses different aspects of connected proposals. Specifically, the buttons below will send a message to...

Note: Each of the above links contains a template message to their respective audience. Please feel free to adapt this language to fit your personal voice and experience. State, provincial and territorial psychology associations (SPTAs) seeking to submit formal letters will receive separate template language from APA Services. 

Your Advocacy Will Continue Building on Successful Efforts from Previous Years

The CY 2025 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule issued by CMS contains many proposals that benefit the field of psychology and our patients. APA Services, along with member psychologists like you, have worked hard to achieve this result through advocacy with and education of leadership at CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees CMS.

These efforts allow us to address issues that go beyond the jurisdiction of the CMS, by strategically expanding our focused advocacy efforts this year to Congress as well. By sending two brief messages, you are helping continue to build bridges between policy and practice and to elevate psychology for key policymakers in Congress and CMS.

Why Is the Physician Fee Schedule Important?

CMS’ annual PFS proposed rule has serious implications across health care. Because this rule sets the benchmark for how other insurance programs cover psychological services, all psychologists — whether they are consultants, researchers, clinicians, educators, or students — have a stake in this rule. 

Thanks to high numbers of psychologists engaging in past PFS comment campaigns, as well as a multipronged advocacy effort by APA staff over several years, the 2025 PFS proposed rule is overwhelmingly favorable for services provided by psychologists. CMS needs to hear that these policies are supported by psychologists and allies of psychology to finalize them. These policies include:  

• New coding and payment mechanism for use and management of FDA-cleared digital mental health treatment. 
• Permitting caregiver training services to be furnished via telehealth. 
• Continued privacy for providers furnishing telehealth services from their own homes.
• New coding and payment mechanism for safety planning services for patients experiencing a crisis, including those at risk of suicide or overdose.
• Increased reimbursement for and access to audio-only telehealth services for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment services.
• New coding and reimbursement mechanism for interprofessional consultation codes specific to behavioral health providers. 

These policies, while a critical step forward, do not become official unless finalized by CMS. Send a comment to CMS to let them know that you appreciate their inclusion in this year’s PFS! While our message can be sent in its entirety, you can also personalize the text and/or remove components not relevant to you.

How Much Time Do I Have to Comment?

The comment period closes on at 11:59pm EDT on September 9, 2024. Please contact Doris Parfaite-Claude, MPP with any additional questions.

Why Is H.R. 2474 Important?

APA Services is also aware of concerns about the policies outlined in the PFS related to provider reimbursement and the Medicare conversion factor (CF), which is adjusted every year to meet budget neutrality requirements imposed by Congress.  Because these CF adjustments are outside of CMS’ authority, we instead ask you to reach out to your member of Congress to ask for their co-sponsorship of the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 2474). 

This bill, supported across the spectrum of medical and behavioral provider organizations, would provide long-overdue support to the dwindling workforce of Medicare providers, who on average receive payments that are 26% lower today than they were in 2001. Specifically, the bill would tie the annual payment update to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), which reflects changes in both provider expenses and broader economic trends. 

Members of Congress must hear your voice to elevate this piece of legislation to help ensure that Medicare attracts an adequate workforce of providers. Please join the fight to protect Medicare beneficiaries’ access to behavioral health services by sending a message to your Members of Congress today! 

Learn More