Insight Matters
Winter 2006

Advocating for our patients and our profession

 The OPA Government Relations Committee, chaired by Kenneth Miller, MD, and the OPA lobbying team, which includes our Executive Director, Janet Shaw, as well as Dan Jones and Tracy Intihar with Capital Consulting Group, Inc., have been busy advocating for our patients and our profession on several important issues. Following is an update on recent activities.

At the state level

House Bill 5/Senate Bill 5 – Mandate-“lite” Option for Small Business and Health Savings Accounts. As a result of concerns expressed by many health care provider groups, including the OPA, the Ohio Department of Insurance has recommended that the flexible benefit plan option (mandate “lite”) be removed from this legislation and possibly considered at a later time. The OPA sees this as a positive move since the mandate lite option could have eliminated the current $500 a year mental health benefit.

House Bill 144 –Waive Doctor/Patient and Attorney/Client Privilege in Probate Cases. This bill has passed both the House and the Senate and will soon be signed into law by the Governor. The OPA worked closely with the Ohio Bar Association and Ohio Legal Rights to ensure that language was included to protect patient confidentiality.

 House Bill 418 – Psychologists Licensure Change. The OPA continues to be concerned about and continues to work with the Ohio Psychological Association to gather information about the need to make changes to psychologist licensing requirements (see Legislative Update, Insight Matters, Fall, 2005).

House Bill 445 – Marriage and Family Therapists Scope of Practice. The OPA worked with Rep. Shawn Webster (R-Hamilton) to introduce legislation that will correct the inconsistency in law (from Am. Sub. HB 374) related to the licensure and scope of practice for marriage and family therapists. The OPA continues to maintain that marriage and family therapists do not have the appropriate and necessary training to independently diagnose and treat mental disorders.

Senate Bill 118 – Assignment of Benefits. The OPA will also continue to support this legislation sponsored by Senator Larry Mumper (R-Marion). The bill would require insurance companies to accept and honor assignment-of-benefit agreements entered into between beneficiaries and health care providers. Too often for non-network providers, insurance companies will send payment for services directly to the patient. Providers then spend time and money to track down their payment. This bill would be an important step in eliminating unfair insurance practices.

Senate Bill 213 – LPCC Transport of Patients to Hospital. This bill would permit a licensed clinical counselor to take certain persons into custody and transport those persons to a hospital. As a result of the discussion at the recent OPA Council meeting, the OPA has taken a position of “under advisement – with technical assistance,” and will send a letter to members of the Senate House, Human Services and Aging Committee, expressing the OPA’s concerns.

At the federal level

Congress reconvened on January 31 and immediately began to address the President’s new budget, leftover bills from last year and various new legislative proposals.

Mental Health Parity – Before adjourning in December, Congress renewed the limited parity law enacted in 1996 to end health insurance discrimination by requiring health plans to cover mental health services at parity with other health care, thus extending its expiration until December 31, 2006.

Medicare Part D Off to a Confusing Start – The Medicare prescription drug benefit went into effect on January 1, 2006 and many individuals are experiencing great difficulty in being able to obtain needed medications. In mid-January, the Bush administration instructed prescription drug plans (PDPs) that they must supply 30-day supplies of any drug a patient was taking before Jan. 1 and that co-payments for dual eligibles (those covered by Medicare and Medicaid) cannot exceed $5.

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