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DELAYS NOTED IN IMPLEMENTATION OF HEALTH PSCYHOLOGY SERVICES REIMBURSEMENT CODES
Last February, HABIT told you about six new reimbursement codes for psychological services to patients with physical health diagnoses. (View this article at www.cfah.org.habit.vol5no2.)
Negotiated by the American Psychological Association's Practice Directorate and the American Medical Association, the codes represent increasing recognition of behavior modification's pivotal role in the prevention, treatment and management of physical illness. On a more practical level, the codes permit higher-than-previous levels of reimbursement to providers as they are medical, not psychiatric.
A presentation at APA's annual meeting this summer revealed that although the codes are going into use, implementation is quite limited at this time. Steve McEllin of the Practice Directorate reported that Medicare had processed reimbursements in four states, and at least one non-Medicare carrier had processed a claim. However, several states have yet to process pending Medicare claims.
HABIT encourages service providers and other interested readers to augment APA's ongoing efforts by contacting the following:
* Your regional Medicare administrator, to check on and encourage implementation in your area.
For more information on the codes, contact the APA Practice Directorate, Government Relations Office at (202) 336-5889.
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