Current Issues

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and John Barrasso (R-WY) have introduced legislation to establish Medicare coverage of licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists. The bill--S. 562, the “Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2013”--would cover only medically-necessary outpatient mental health services, and would reimburse licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists at the same reimbursement rates, and under the same terms and conditions, as clinical social workers. Counselors should contact their state's U.S. Senators to ask them to cosponsor S. 562.

The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program, Safe Schools Healthy Students Initiative, and Integration of Schools and Mental Health Systems are three programs that have been approved by Congress and support the work of school counselors. Contact your Congress members and help get these successful programs funded!

The Student Support Act amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and creates matching grants of at least $1 million to states for allocation to local educational agencies so that additional school-based mental health and student service providers may be hired, thereby reducing the student-to-counseolr ratios in elementary and secondary schools.

ACA supports the Mental Health in Schools Act of 2013, which was introduced on January 31. It is designed to increase students’ access to mental-health services in schools by establishing a new grant program that supports collaboration between local education agencies and community based health and social service organizations focused on children and youth. Ask your Senators to sign on as co-sponsors to help build bi-partisan support.