WORKSHOP: Obtaining Health Insurance Coverage for Mental Health & Autism Treatment

From the Autism Health Insurance Project

Has your child been denied health insurance coverage for mental health or autism treatments? Speech therapy only covered in-part? Psychiatrists not paid for? ABA, OT, Psychologists? Are the denial letters or explanation of benefits too much to decipher? Come to our workshop and learn how to obtain health insurance coverage of mental health and autism treatments.

WHAT: Hands-on workshop on Obtaining Health Insurance Coverage for Mental Health & Autism Treatments. We will answer your specific questions. Bring your denial letters.

WHEN: Wednesday, August 26, 2015, 11:30AM-1:30 PM

WHERE: 985 Moraga Road, Suite 208, Lafayette, CA 94549

RSVP: Please RSVP by making a $15 donation here. (We will keep track of your name for entry on Aug. 26)

COST: $15 in advance, $20 at the door, includes Paxtis's Pizza lunch & beverages. (Please pay through the donate button on our website and we will keep your name on file for the event. )

CONTACT: (510) 325-0975 or karen@autismhealthinsurance.org. Please come to our workshop! We will help you.

Paxti's Pizza will donate 10% of its profits from the entire day back to the Autism Health Insurance Project. If you are unable to attend our workshop, please consider having a meal at Paxti's.

Workshop posting HERE.

Feds Expand Mental Health Coverage

Health insurers must cover mental health services at the same level as physical ailments under new federal rules.

The Obama administration released final regulations late last week requiring that most insurance plans offer an equivalent level of coverage for mental health as they do for medical and surgical needs.

Traditionally, individuals in need of mental health services have incurred higher out-of-pocket costs and often faced limits on the number of doctor visits or days spent at an in-patient facility.

Under the new rules, however, co-payments, deductibles and limits on the number of visits to mental health providers cannot differ significantly from those imposed for more traditional medical treatments.

“This final rule breaks down barriers that stand in the way of treatment and recovery services for millions of Americans,” said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius who indicated that the changes will make treatment “more affordable and accessible.”

The rules were long-awaited by mental health advocates, coming five years after Congress passed a law to ensure mental health parity. The new regulations detail how the law will be administered.

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.

The flexible classroom: Helping students with mental health challenges to thrive

About 10% of the school population — 9 to 13 million children — struggle with mental health challenges, some of the most challenging students that educators face. In our inclusive classrooms, teachers are becoming skilled at working with children who exhibit learning, physical, and cognitive disabilities, as well as those on the autism spectrum while students with mental health challenges continue to mystify and frustrate.

Read more of Jessica Minahan's Special Education Advisor article HERE.

Mental Health in Schools Act: Ask your Member of Congress to Cosponsor!

Support Student Access to Mental Health Services Take Action! Ask your Members of Congress to Cosponsor the Mental Health in Schools Act Recent tragedies across the nation have highlighted the need – more than ever – for improved access to mental health services.  Despite research showing the importance of school-based mental health services, nearly 70 percent of adolescents living with mental illness do not receive treatment. The American School Counselor Association recommends one school counselor for every 250 students, yet the national average during the 2010-2011 school year was one counselor for every 471 students.Please urge your Members of Congress to cosponsor the Mental Health in Schools Act,  legislation which has been introduced in the last several Congresses,  and would establish a grant program to school districts to expand access to mental health services by providing vital assistance to utilize innovative community partnerships in training school staff, volunteers, families, and other members of the community to recognize the signs of child and adolescent behavioral health problems and refer them for appropriate services. More information from the National PTA HERE.

So What Are Educationally Related Mental Health Services?

By Carolina D. Watts from Special Education and Disability Rights Blog (A2Z Educational Advocates)

Since the state of California decided to repeal AB3632, which previously governed the provision of mental health services to students with IEPs in California, there has been a lengthy time period of changes and adjustments as school districts have had to figure out how to provide the services that were previously under the purview of the Department of Mental Health.  Now that the dust has somewhat settled, many parents are hearing a relatively new term for the services that previously were referred to as "AB3632 services"  - - "Educationally Related Mental Health Services" or the acronym "ERMHS."

At the most basic, ERMHS should encompass the same types of services that were previously available under AB3632 within a student's IEP, with the exception of "medication management" services.  This means that ERMHS may include residential placement or intensive outpatient therapeutic services like family therapy / counseling, individual therapy / counseling, and/or group therapy / counseling.  At this time, school districts are responsible for providing these services themselves, the same way that school districts are responsible for other related services such as speech and language therapy or occupational therapy.

Because school districts have always had the responsibility of providing "counseling" services as a related service (or what is called "Designated Instruction and Services" or "DIS" services), there is some confusion about the possible overlap between ERMHS and "DIS Counseling."  Here is a definition of each:

Counseling as a Related Services (DIS Counseling) is defined as counseling services provided to a student’s behavioral and emotional needs that affect their ability to benefit from their special education program and are manifested primarily at school.

Educationally Related Mental Health Services (ERMHS) is defined as services provided to a student whose behavioral and emotional needs are documented to be more intense in frequency, duration or intensity, affect their ability to benefit from their special education program, and are manifested as school, at home and in the community.

Read more HERE.

Sacramento County aims mental health effort at hard-to-reach groups

Psychologists across the country have grappled for years with a thorny problem: While every demographic group has mental health problems, certain groups tend not to seek treatment.

Now, Sacramento County is using an infusion of state cash to try to close that gap locally.

The county Department of Health and Human Services has contracted community agencies across the county – one for each of eight specific ethnic or age groups – to evaluate what mental health services those groups need and what obstacles block them from getting help.

Read more of Grace Rubenstein's Sacramento Bee article HERE.

A mother writes about her concerns to judge dealing with D.C. mental health care suit

By Theresa Vargas from The Washington Post - PostLocal

The year a group of psychiatric patients launched a class action lawsuit against the District, calling for a mental health system that offered more options than a troubled hospital, Annie Alatishe was in her 20s.

She had not yet given birth to her son, Tamir. She had not yet heard doctors tell her that a fall down the stairs had injured the 1-year-old’s brain. She had no idea that almost 40 years later — as the case approached a final settlement — she would have to consider whether she trusts the city’s mental health system to properly take care of her son, now 23, for the rest of his life.

Read complete article HERE.