Advocacy for Clinical Mental Health Counselors

Advocacy for Clinical Mental Health Counselors

The Mental Health Access Improvement Act (H.R. 3662) is one federal policy issue that the ACA is currently working to change. The bill significantly expands Medicare recipients’ access to mental health care. The bill makes sure that there is continuity of care without altering the scale of business or the addition of new services by adding highly qualified licensed mental health counselors and family and marriage therapists to the provider network. The bill is expected to improve Medicare beneficiaries access to outpatient mental health care while increasing cost-efficiency by covering highly-qualified LPCs. The legislation comes at a time when there is a current shortage of mental health professionals available to Medicare beneficiaries, and this factor is expected to worsen as the baby boom generation enrolls in the program and current mental health service providers retire. According to research, licensed professional counselors are more likely than clinical psychiatrists, social workers, and psychologists to work in underserved and rural areas (American Counseling Association, 2016).

Public policies that affect the quality and accessibility of mental health services

Policy, according to Mental Health America (MHA), should be approached in a unique manner. As a result, health systems must converse with people about their desires in order for them to live the lives they desire, and policies must be in line with their desires. Public policies include essential services, dealing with emergencies, and assessing and planning services.

Advocacy

Speaking out and making victims’ voices heard are among the support processes required to address social and institutional barriers that impede access, success, and equity for clients, as are efforts to facilitate prevention, early identification, and intervention for people at risk of mental problems. Furthermore, the processes include facilitating access to quality and providing integrated health care to affected people in order to facilitate recovery. The National Council, Illinois Mental Health Counselors, and the National Eating Disorder Association are among the organizations that support the policy. These organizations are assuming the role of clinical mental health counselors because they believe that MFTs and mental health counselors are frequently the only mental health providers in many communities, but they are not usually recognized as covered providers by the Medicare program. Despite their anonymity, these therapists have greater or equivalent training, practice rights, and education as qualified providers who can bill Medicare for mental health services.

Importance of supporting counselor advocacy

Medicare currently does not pay for these professionals’ services, which limits patients’ access to services and excludes great professionals who serve people with addiction and mental health disorders (American Counseling Association, 2016). Finally, organizations should support counselor advocacy because it is important for behavioral health providers in rural areas because it can increase total service capacity and allow Medicare to cover a more diverse workforce.

References

American Counseling Association. (2016). Current Issues: Medicare bill introduced in the U.S. House. Retrieved August 9, 2016, from http://www.counseling.org/government- affairs/current-issues/position-papers/2014/03/11/Medicare-bill-introduced-in-the-U.S.- House

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Explore the counselor’s role in client advocacy. The student will research the following topics and post their responses in a blog: help-seeking behaviors, the marginalization of a specific population, and the characteristics of a specific population. The student is required to utilize and list at least 4 sources in constructing their responses to pre-set questions in a blog.

1)  What are the characteristics of this population?

2)  What factors impact the marginalization of this population?

3)  What are the help-seeking needs of this population?

4)  What areas of advocacy are needed for this population and why are these necessary?

5). What plan would you implement to address client advocacy needs in this population?