MEETING WITH CHAIR OF THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE SENATOR WYDEN
Youth & Mental Health Crisis Following COVID-19
FAIR Health released a study in March 2021 on the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric mental health that was very concerning. In response to that, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. YouTube Link to hearing: https://youtu.be/sqay0ul2TI4.
ATRA’s Response: Letter of Support
In order to better advocate for RTs serving youth with mental health diagnoses, ATRA wrote a letter of support that can be found below. This letter was sent to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on Education and Labor, House Committee on Ways and Means, Senate Committee on Finance, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
ATRA’s Meeting with Senator Ron Wyden, Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Finance
In response to this letter, ATRA was invited to speak with staff members of Senator Ron Wyden, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance! During this conference call on December 1st, ATRA representatives discussed the role of RT in providing quality services for adolescent mental health. We are highlighted examples of how RT services reach clients’ mental health goals by using preferred leisure activities. We also addressed the limitations to accessing RT services because of funding gaps, making it challenging for these RT services to be available in every community.
At the end of the conference call, we provided 3 “asks” of Chairman Wyden:
- To support inclusion of the full $150 billion for home and community-based services (HCBS) by the Senate in the Build Back Better Act. This funding can be used to help support recreational therapy in the community.
- In regards to HCBS, we would also like to further engage your office in a letter to CMS that asks that CMS guidance to states on the development of their local HCBS plans include language that encourages recreational therapists be included as key members of the therapy teams.
- Continued conversation in the new year about Senate introduction of The Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Act, which would return the CMS interpretation of the three-hour rule to language that was included in the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility regulation prior to 2010, and would allow for physician judgment on the right therapy mix when determining what can be counted toward the three-hour rule.
The conference call ended positively with the Chairman’s staff interested in continuing this conversation and working with ATRA in the near future.
