APA’s Government, Policy, and Advocacy Update (August 2024)
DBs in CA, IL Help Defeat Legislation for Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Drug Psilocybin
The California State Association of Psychiatrists (CSAP) and its state district branches (DBs) recently helped defeat legislation that would have licensed the psychedelic drug psilocybin, also known as “magic mushrooms,” for therapeutic use.
Strong opposition from the Illinois Psychiatric Society (IPS) likewise was successful in keeping in committee a similar bill that would have allowed the therapeutic use of psilocybin.
IPS and CSAP both cited patient safety concerns in their opposition to the proposed legislation. The California bill called for creating three new government entities that would have regulated psychedelic-assisted “therapy” and provided licenses to “psychedelic facilitators” without medical training who would have overseen psilocybin sessions with clients, just like Oregon’s system currently allows.
Also playing a role in the California bill’s defeat was its estimated fiscal impact, projected to be in the millions of dollars. APA does not support states authorizing the use, manufacture, or sale of psilocybin or other psychedelic substances until they are approved by the FDA as safe and effective.
APA continues to assist DBs in voicing patient safety concerns in response to related legislative proposals. E-mail [email protected].
APA Seeks Higher Payments to Preserve Psychiatric Inpatient Beds, Provide ECT, Care for Patients With Homelessness
APA has urged the federal government to find ways to assess the full cost of providing inpatient psychiatric care and to boost payments for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the Medicare program.
In comments filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), APA applauded the payment increases proposed in a Medicare rule (CMS–1806–P) that would take effect in October. However, “current reimbursement for inpatient psychiatric units fails to cover the full cost of providing care,” APA wrote. “These negative margins have contributed to the well-documented decline in the number of acute psychiatric inpatient beds over the past decade.”
APA urged the agency “to ensure that mechanisms are put in place to capture costs (i.e., staffing, capital expenses, pharmaceuticals, emerging evidence-based interventions) accurately now and in the future with as little administrative burden as possible.” APA also supports recommendations for enhanced payments for ECT as well as a classification change that would boost hospital payments when providing care for patients experiencing homelessness.
APA’s letter is posted here.
APA Endorses Proposed Senate Commission to Help Improve Access to Care
APA is supporting the creation of a new U.S. Senate Commission on Mental Health in a bill (S. 4312) that was recently introduced by Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
The bill would establish a new commission to investigate barriers to mental health care delivery and make policy recommendations to Congress and the president on how to improve access and affordability of mental health care.
Both Smith and Fetterman have been open about their mental-health challenges. Fetterman said in a statement that prior to seeking treatment for his depression, he was cynical about the benefit of mental health care. Now, he wants everyone struggling with their mental health to have access to the same resources he did.
The bipartisan commission would include two experts with demonstrated academic and professional background in mental health care, according to the bill. In the first year following establishment, the commission would be tasked with examining mental-health parity requirements, reimbursement rates for mental-health services, and workforce challenges, including reimbursement rates for clinicians and burnout.
Fetterman’s statement is posted here. ■
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Psychiatric News
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Published online: 22 July 2024
Published in print: August 1, 2024 – August 31, 2024
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