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Vermont approves
expansion of mental health parity bill
(August/September
2006 Issue)
By Phyllis Hanlon
In 1997, Vermont passed one of the most comprehensive parity bills
in the country. Although this legislation granted greater access
to care for mental health and substance abuse issues and eliminated
higher deductibles, co-pays and other artificial limitations on
mental health care, a few challenges remained. This past May, the
Green Mountain state approved an expansion of its current mental
health parity bill.
Larry Lewack, executive director of NAMI-Vermont, says that the
bill, H.404, opens up "previously closed provider networks of insurers
to require reimbursement of any licensed mental health provider."
The law took effect on July 1.
According to Lewack, consumers faced significant challenges when
trying to reach appropriate mental health care providers. In some
cases, only one out of four of the names given to subscribers still
practiced in the state, he says. "The list was not up-to-date. People
became frustrated and gave up." In other situations, these lists
contained psychiatrists when subscribers sought mental health counselors.
Also, a number of these professionals were involved in teaching
and administration, rather than counseling.
Lewack notes that many insurers failed to notify front-line staff
of the changes in the law. "Three weeks before the law went into
effect, our concern was that it's not a priority [for insurers].
People won't know about this," he says.
"NAMI-Vermont is working with other advocates to build publicity
about this and also get the state to issue clear regulations to
the insurers," says Lewack. The collaborating organizations intend
to launch a campaign to raise awareness of the changes in the law
for both providers and consumers, he adds. "Our sense is that the
role of the state is limited to requiring insurers to post new information
on the Web. But they might not send out comprehensive information
to subscribers," he says. "We want subscribers to take advantage
of the new benefits."
Alexandra Forbes, M.A., Vermont Psychological Association's legislative
chair, has been a "driving force" behind this bill and "was involved
every step of the way," according to Rosanne Czermak, executive
director of the VPA. Forbes says that in collaboration with other
key professional associations and legislators, the VPA focused on
the problems associated with the closed panels and how they negatively
affect "open and fluid access to mental health care." She points
out that once legislators realized the "full dimension of the picture,"
they were interested in taking action to increase access to mental
health care. Forbes says, "Vermont is not only ahead of the curve,
we are creating the curve."
Czermak says, "This is a bill that the Vermont Psychological Association
worked to create and pass for the past four years," she says. "VPA
has spent thousands of dollars and countless man-hours to see its
passage." She reports that approximately 570 licensed psychologists
practice in the state.
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