Political Quotes

“I am honored to join my colleague from Wyoming, Senator John Barrasso, in introducing a bill essential to enhancing the delivery of mental health services to our senior citizens, The Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2011. We are pleased to be joined by Sens. Sherrod Brown, Inouye, Tim Johnson, Begich, and Durbin in this effort. Currently, there are limitations on the types of mental health practitioners who may be reimbursed for services in the Medicare program. Our legislation 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. With this legislation, seniors will have more opportunities as part of their Medicare benefit to access professional mental health counseling assistance. Throughout the United States there are approximately 77 million older adults living in 3,000 so-called ``mental health profession shortage areas.'' Moreover, 50 percent of rural counties have no practicing psychiatrists or psychologists. Seniors living in these areas will be the primary beneficiaries of our efforts. Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists are often the only mental health providers in some communities, and yet presently they are not recognized within the Medicare program appropriately.…”