FYI/ARTICLE: Future of Psychiatry In the Year 2019: Psychiatry in Law and Public Policy

[Passed along by Joe Cautilli, Chair of the Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis Special Interest Group.]

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June 3, 2009
Michael A. Norko, MD. Future of Psychiatry In the Year 2019: Psychiatry in Law and Public Policy, Psychiatric Times, 26(6).

"Whether you credit the idea to Niels Bohr or Yogi Berra, it is true that predictions are very difficult to make, especially about the future. It is a daunting task, yet obviously an intriguing one, to try to imagine what our field will be like in 10 years or more.

To cope with the limits of prognostication, article size, and personal knowledge (and to limit the extent of how wrong I may be proved by time), I will focus here on events in the realms of ethics and law in psychiatry and the inevitable conflicts between science and public policy and economics that have their origin in those spawning grounds. I will comment on 2 general areas:

• Conflicts related to people our society fears and feels justified in stigmatizing—including sex offenders and people with serious mental illness

• The limits of the sciences of prediction and the ways in which our fears lead us to ignore those limits..."

FULL ARTICLE

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
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Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG or individual SIG member authors and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed
to their website,

FYI: From the OMB: "Building Rigorous Evidence to Drive Policy"

Building Rigorous Evidence to Drive Policy
Monday, June 8th.
Peter R. Orszag, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director

The article emphasizes a need for more evaluation of Federal systems and Federally funded programs to determine what is "working", to gather evidence, and to introduce innovation and changes into that which is not. It also describes some new Federal pilot programs.

From the full article,

"...At one level, we need to invest more in program evaluation — and the President’s Budget does. For example, we call for an expansion of the Institute for Education Sciences and growth in the evaluation budgets at the Department of Labor and the Corporation for National and Community Service . We’re working with YouthBuild, a program the President supports, to implement its first-ever rigorous national evaluation.

Beyond investing more in evaluations, we are also designing new initiatives with evaluation standards built into their DNA. One example is the Department of Education’s "Grow What Works and Innovation Fund."..."

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
-----------
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG or individual SIG member authors and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed
to their website,

NEWS: CT Governor Rell Signs Autism Insurance Reform Bill s.SB 301 into Law on 6/9/09

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell's website states,

"P.A. 09-115
s.S.B. 301 AN ACT CONCERNING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

This Act passed as amended by Senate Amendment Schedule A and shall take effect January 1, 2010 The Governor signed this bill on June 9, 2009."

To repeat the clauses in s.S.B. 301 that might be of particular interest to those seeking reimbursement of behavioral therapies, and practicing behavior analysts,

"AN ACT CONCERNING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS.

(...) 12 (3) "Behavioral therapy" means interactive therapies derived from
13 evidence-based research that are provided to children less than
14 thirteen years of age, including, but not limited to, applied behavior
15 analysis that is provided or supervised by a behavior analyst who is
16 certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (....)"

See the prior post for bill text and other background on CT s.SB 301, (now P.A. 09-115).

Thursday, May 28, 2009
NEWS: Connecticut passes autism insurance reform Substitute Bill 301

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
-----------
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG or individual SIG member authors and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed
to their website,

ANNOUNCE: June 16 Subcommittee Meetings of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)

The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has just announced two Subcommittee meetings on June 16, 2009.

Although on the same day, each Subcommittee's respective webinar is at different times, have different links for registration and different access codes. Please see below for more info on the Subcommittees, times, agendas, registrations, access codes and how to be added to the mailing list for future IACC meeting announcements.
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Some background on the IACC,
The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) is the Committee that,

"coordinates all efforts within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concerning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Through its inclusion of both Federal and public members, the IACC helps to ensure that a wide range of ideas and perspectives are represented and discussed in a public forum.

The IACC mission is to:

• Facilitate the efficient and effective exchange of information on ASD activities among the member agencies
• Coordinate ASD-related activities
• Increase public understanding of the member agencies' activities, programs, policies, and research by providing a public forum for discussions related to ASD research, screening, education, and interventions

IACC meetings are open to the public and include presentations and discussions about member activities and projects of the IACC. The meetings also include scientific presentations from investigators in the field of ASD research. A portion of each meeting is reserved for public comment. A summary of each meeting is posted on the meetings & events page of the IACC website. "

As noted, the IACC holds regular meetings to which are open to the public and to which the public is invited to attend either in person (with attendance limited to space available) or by webinar. Below is the most recent announcement for two IACC Subcommittee Meetings. By attending the webinar or registering, you can be added to their email list and receive these notices yourself.

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[Individuals who plan to attend and need special assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, should indicate these needs to the Contact Person, in this case, Ms. Lina Perez, Office of Autism Research Coordination, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 6001 Executive Boulevard, NSC, Room 8200, Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: 301-443-6040 or IACCPublicInquiries@mail.nih.gov ]

The agendas for the June 16, 2009 meetings are

• 10am-1pm EDT/7am-10am PDT
  The Planning the Annual Strategic Plan Updating Process Subcommittee:
  To discuss a strategy for annually updating the IACC Strategic Plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder Research.
  
  6130 Executive Boulevard, Executive Plaza North/Conference Room H – Main Level, Rockville, Maryland 20892.
  To access the meeting remotely, please register for the webinar online at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/241818848 and access the conference call by using the dial-in number for the USA/Canada: 888-455-2920.
  The access code for the conference call numbers is 3857872.

• 2pm-5pm EDT/11am-2pm PDT
  The Services Subcommittee:
• “To discuss autism services and supports activities; special speakers to present the CDC Learn the Signs. Act Early. Program and the HRSA Combating Autism Act Initiative.”
  
  6130 Executive Boulevard, Executive Plaza North/Conference Room H – Main Level, Rockville, Maryland 20892.
  To access the meeting remotely, please register for the webinar online at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/679351441 and access the conference call by using the dial-in number for the USA/Canada: 888-455-2920.
  The access code for the conference call number is 8287017.
  

For more information on this meeting, or the IACC, please visit www.iacc.hhs.gov.

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
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Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG or individual SIG member authors and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed
to their website,

VIDEO: James N. Bouder testifies on cost-analysis of covering ABA for autism

[Author's note on a correction: I would like to add an explanatory note that Mr. Bouder's testimony was as a private citizen who volunteers to help other parents who are legislatively working towards insurance reform and not affiliated with any of his professional interests. A prior version of this post may have accidentally inferred otherwise, and the suggestive misinformation has been edited out. My apologies to Mr. Bouder and to the readers of this blogpost for my error.]

While the testimony was in aid of Michigan HB 4476, the analyses and arguments are applicable anywhere.

There will be some reference to Pennsylvania HB 1150 (now PA Autism Insurance Act 62), which passed in 2008, and the cost-analysis from Texas which recently expanded its ABA coverage for children with autism.

Below is a video of the testimony on behalf of Michigan HB 4476 by James N. Bouder, co-author of several cost analyses on insurance coverage of autism treatment including ABA applications (also see "Further Reading", below).

YouTube: James Bouder Testifies at MI Health Policy Committee 6/9/09 Re: Autism Insurance in MI (9:34)

Further reading:

• Autism Insurance in Michigan (AIM): See Jim Bouder and others' Testimony at Hearing 6/9/09!

• Previous post on unanimous 19-0 passage in the Michigan Health Policy Committee of HB 4476, insurance coverage of autism including ABA treatment for autism.
• 
  
• Bouder, J.N., Spielman, S., & Mandell, D.S. (2009). Brief report: Quantifying the impact of autism coverage on private insurance premiums. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(6), 953-957.
  DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0701-z

• HB 451 Texas Cost and Benefit Study - Coverage Age 0-21 Summary
• James N. Bouder, MPA, and Jon Hockenyos
  April 14, 2009
  From Texas Autism Advocacy

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
-----------
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG and SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed
to their website,

NEWS Maine: Board Certified Behavior Analysts Qualify for Reimbursement under MaineCare

'Recently found on the Maine Legislative website, that SP 226, LD 611 (Sponsor: Sen. Joe Perry), to provide allowance for reimbursement for Board Certified Behavior Analysts under MaineCare, was passed on 5/3/09, and signed into statute by Governor John Baldacci on 5/8/09.

Chapter 33, Reimbursement in the MaineCare Program for Board-certified Behavior Analysts 5/8/09

Added 6/4/09 from legislative website: html, pdf

124th Maine Legislature, First Regular Session Legislature

Paper, SP 226, LD # 611

Resolve, To Provide Reimbursement in the MaineCare Program for Board-certified Behavior Analysts

Final Disposition: FINALLY PASSED, May 5, 2009

Governor's Action: Signed, May 8, 2009

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
-----------
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG and SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed
to their website,

ANNOUNCE: You are invited to subscribe to ASAT's free newsletter, "Science in Autism Treatment"

The Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) has some exciting news!

You are invited to subscribe to the free quarterly newsletter,
Science in Autism Treatment, which will be returning this summer.
(Back issues are archived at ASAT under "Suggested Reading.")

The newsletter will include:

• Featured articles by leading advocates for science-based treatment,
• "Clinical Corner" responses to frequently-asked-questions about autism treatment,
• Detailed summaries of specific treatments for autism,
• Book reviews,
• Reviews of published research to help consumers and professionals access the science,
• Interviews with professionals advancing science-based treatment and confronting pseudoscience,
• Discussion of accurate and inaccurate portrayals of autism and its treatment by the media,
• Guidelines to help consumers access effective treatments,
• and even more.

To register to receive your free email subscription to Science in Autism Treatment.

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
-----------
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG and SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed
to their website,

NEWS: Michigan Autism Insurance Bill HB 4476 Unanimously Passes House Health Policy Committee-To Go To Floor Of the Michigan House

The Detroit Free Press reports that Michigan House Bill 4476 (2009) ( introduced 2/26/2009; Sponsor: Rep. Kathy Angerer + 4 co-sponsors)

Insurance; health care corporations; coverage for certain treatments related to autism; provide for. Amends 1980 PA 350 (MCL 550.1101 - 550.1704) by adding sec. 416e.

was approved by a unanimous 19-0 vote in the Michigan House Health Policy Committee and now heads to the floor of the Democratic-led House. It is reported by The Detroit Free Press that the Senate side of the Michigan legislature may be expected to mount challenges to the bill.

Reps Kathy Angerer and Richard Ball, and "Jarret" at a Michigan Capitol rally 4/29/09

For further information, see

• Autism Insurance in Michigan
• House Bill 4476 (2009) Text and History
• Michigan Legislature Website

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
-----------
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG and SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed to their website,

NEWS: Federal S. 1169 joins H.R. 1600 to provide for the treatment of autism under TRICARE

On June 3, 2009 S. 1169 was introduced by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand (NY), as the Senate-side companion resolution to the previously introduced H.R. 1600. Both bills would "amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the treatment of autism under TRICARE.".

Senator Gillibrand talking about her Autism Plan and S. 1169

Sections of particular interest to Behavior Analysts (identical language in H.R. 1600 and S. 1169),

"...`(3) The Secretary may not consider the use of applied behavior analysis or other structured behavior programs under this section to be special education for purposes of section 1079(a)(9) of this title.
`(4) In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that--
`(A) a person who is authorized to provide applied behavior analysis or other structured behavior programs is licensed or certified by a State, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, or other accredited national certification board; and
`(B) if applied behavior analysis or other structured behavior program is provided by an employee or contractor of a person authorized to provide such treatment, the employee or contractor shall meet minimum qualifications, training, and supervision requirements consistent with business best practices in the field of behavior analysis and autism services.
`(5) In this section:
`(A) The term `autism spectrum disorders' includes autistic disorder, Asperger's syndrome, and any of the pervasive developmental disorders as defined by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
`(B) The term `habilitative and rehabilitative care' includes--
`(i) professional counseling;
`(ii) guidance service;
`(iii) treatment programs, including not more than 40 hours per week of applied behavior analysis; and
`(iv) other structured behavior programs that a health care professional determines necessary to develop, improve, maintain, or restore the functions of the beneficiary..."

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Full text, tracking and other commentary on S.1169 and H.R. 1600

• More information and advocacy tips from Autism Votes:
  Uniformed Services With Autism (USA) Heroes Act (H.R. 1600)
• Blog posts on the resolutions at the Blog,
  Jacob Woodard: A Military Child Living With PDD-NOS
• April 21, 2009 Letter from Frank R. Wolf (R-10th VA) on why he is co-sponsoring H.R. 1600
  
  
• H.R. 1600 To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the treatment of autism under TRICARE. (Introduced in House) 3/18/2009. Thomas.gov
  
• Summary and tracking feed on H.R. 1600 from OpenCongress.org
  
  
• S.1169 To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the treatment of autism under TRICARE. (Introduced in Senate) 6/3/2009. Thomas.gov
• Summary and tracking feed on S. 1169 from OpenCongress.org

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
-----------
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG and SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed to their website,

NEWS: H.R. 2740 "IDEA Fairness Restoration Act" would allow expert witness fees for parents

Congressmen Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Pete Sessions (R-TX) introduced H.R. 2740, the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act. This bill would overturn a 2006 Supreme Court decision that prohibits the payment of fees to expert witnesses representing parents in IDEA due process. The fees would only be paid by school systems which are found by the courts to have wrongfully denied an appropriate education to students with disabilities under IDEA.

From the Capitol Insider, Volume 14, Issue 22. June 8, 2009
Disability Collaboration: A Partnership of The Arc & United Cerebral Palsy
To sign up for the Capitol Insider

OpenCongress on H.R. 2740

Other blog posts

H.R. 2740 would amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to permit a prevailing party in an action or proceeding brought to enforce the Act to be awarded expert witness fees and certain other expenses.
Washingtonwatch.com

H.R. 2740: To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to permit a prevailing party in an action or proceeding brought to enforce the Act to be awarded expert witness fees and certain other expenses.
GovTrack.us

Other references

• Text of H.R. 2740 at Thomas.gov
• ARLINGTON CENTRAL SCHOOL DIST. BD. OF ED. v.MURPHY (No. 05-18)
  402 F. 3d 332, reversed and remanded.
  Cornell University Law School
• Topic: Procedural Safeguards: Due Process Hearings. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs 10.04.06

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
-----------
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG and SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed to their website,

NEWS: Federal H.R. 2688: Empowered at Home Act would assist home and community-based services for disabilities

On June 3, 2009, H.R. 2688, the Empowered at Home Act of 2009, was introduced in the U.S. House and has been sent to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Chairman: Rep. Henry Waxman).

Federal News Long Term Services and Supports

"Representatives Frank Pallone [Jr.] (D-NJ) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) introduced the Empowered at Home Act [of 2009], H.R 2688. This bill would remove barriers to providing home and community-based services (HCBS) under the Medicaid State plan amendment option for individuals in need by
1) increasing the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP);
2) revising the income eligibility to up to 300% of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit rate; and
3) giving states the option to provide HCBS waiver services to prevent, delay, or decrease the likelihood of institutionalized care."

From the Capitol Insider, Volume 14, Issue 22, June 8, 2009
Disability Collaboration: A Partnership of The Arc & United Cerebral Palsy
To sign up for the Capitol Insider

Open Congress tracking on HR 2688


Other blog posts on HR 2688,

HR2688, To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to improve ...
HR 2688 would amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to improve the State plan amendment option for providing home and community-based services under the Medicaid Program....

Source: Washingtonwatch.com

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

June 02, 2009 H.R. 2688: To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to ...
A bill inthe US Congress: To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to improve the State plan amendment option for providing home and community-based services under the Medicaid Program, and for other purposes.

Source: Active Legislation -- Tracked by GovTrack.us

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

Other resources:

• The Clearinghouse for Home and Community Based Services
• Technical Summary of Medicaid Program General Information
• Title XIX of the Social Security Act

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Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
-----------
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG and SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed to their website,