Status of Congressional Spending Bills for Education, Other Agencies
Position Papers 10.29.2009
On July 30, 2009, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed, by a vote of 29 to 1, the committee's version of the appropriations bill funding the federal Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2010. This provides for an array of programs impacting counselors' professional development and their work, including the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP).
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House Bills Support School Counseling Services
Position Papers 10.27.2009
Members of Congress have introduced several key bills that would advance the counseling profession within schools. Lawmakers will likely attempt to insert their bills into the renewed, or reauthorized, version of the main federal law on K-12 education, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind (ESEA/NCLB), when it is taken up by Congress in 2010.
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Medicare Coverage of Licensed Professional Counselors
Position Papers 3.27.2009
Legislation has been introduced in both the House of Senate to establish Medicare coverage of licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists. These bills would significantly improve Medicare beneficiaries’ access to outpatient mental health care, in a very cost-effective manner.
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Progress on Implementation of New Veterans Affairs Law
Position Papers 3.20.2009
In February, the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) approved the creation of a new occupational category or categories for the hiring of licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists by the VA. The decision is a major step in the implementation of PL 109-461, which was signed into law in December 2006.
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Access to Counseling in Department of Defense’s TRICARE Health Services Program
Position Papers 2.2.2009
In January of 2008, President Bush signed H.R. 4986, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. The enacted legislation requires Department of Defense to issue regulations outlining training credentials that would allow LPCs to practice independently under the TRICARE program.
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Parity of Insurance Coverage for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment
Position Papers 10.23.2008
On October 3rd, 2008 Congress and the president enacted an historic law requiring most private sector health plans to establish parity of insurance coverage for mental health and addictive disorder treatments. Enactment of the law is a victory for the American Counseling Association and other mental health and addictive disorder advocacy organizations, which have been working toward this goal for over a decade.
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