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"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
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Bill would add marriage, family counseling to Medicare
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP Nov 16, 2005 03:18pm |
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| Category | Proposed Legislation |
| Media | TV News - CNN |
| News Date | Monday, November 14, 2005 04:45:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | In rural states, older residents often have a hard time finding care for mental health problems. Wyoming, for instance, has 200 square miles for every Medicare provider eligible to treat mental illness.
Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyoming, wants to improve that ratio. He has sponsored legislation that would bring marriage and family therapists and licensed counselors into the health insurance program. As a result, Wyoming's elderly and disabled would have access to 1,063 mental health professionals instead of 474.
But the proposal has drawn strong opposition from the American Psychiatric Association, which says it would waste government money. The inclusion of the new providers would increase spending for marriage counseling or family troubles without improving care for more serious problems like schizophrenia, the group contends.
"These are the wrong services to cover at the wrong time. There's a huge resource issue," said Tom Leibfried, the association's lobbyist. "Congress is finding it hard to provide new money for services, and the first thing to fund would not be these." |
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