David Thomas: “I introduced it along with Senator Lincoln of Arkansas. It is called the Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of…”

“I introduced it along with Senator Lincoln of Arkansas. It is called the Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2001. I am very happy to have had an opportunity to introduce this bill. It is important legislation, particularly for seniors living in rural areas. The bill is designed to provide more opportunities for seniors under Medicare to have professional assistance in areas where often there are shortages of providers, and this is designed to help that situation. It permits mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists to bill Medicare for their services, and it pays them at the rate of clinical social workers. It is particularly important in rural States, such as my State of Wyoming, where often there is a shortage of mental health providers, and so it requires a good deal of travel. On the other hand, there are trained social workers who are prepared to provide these services if they have an opportunity to do it under the Medicare Program. That is what this bill does.”