By Prudence L. Gourguechon on 7/9/2009 2:45 PM
A friend of a friend of the American Psychoanalytic Association has worked for many years, in many capacities, as a health care policy "guy" in Washington DC. The members of APsaA are understandably concerned about and invested in numerous aspects of health care policy, both reform and otherwise.
Among our top concerns are protecting patient privacy, preserving the right to private contracting, making sure that treatment that is individualized and personal is supported as much as treatment that is "evidenced based" and more. We eagerly take stands, along with sister mental health professional organizations on these issues.
As a group, we are probably less unanimous on some of the economic issues such as public insurance options or single payer. So with these issues, our organizational stance is to share information but to remain neutral.
We asked our source in Washington about the timetable for the massive changes afoot. We like other groups with an interest in advocacy, want to make sure our voice is heard not just loudly but at the right time. Here's what he had to say about when he thinks the legislation will be done:
Optimistic Scenario:
Committee approval between now and July 31st
Floor votes: First week in August
Conference committee staff work during August
Conference agreement by September 30
Final floor votes by October 31.
Realistic Scenario:
Committee approval by July 31
Floor votes by August 15
Conference agreement by October 1
Final floor votes by Thanksgiving
Pessimistic Scenario:
No committee approval before August recess
Committee votes in September-October
Floor votes in November
Conference agreement on scaled down bill by Xmas
Our source thought there will be plenty of opportunities for input during implementation in 2010. Many of the detailed issues, he said, will be left to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to decide.
Many of the issues the American Psychoanalytic Association cares the most about -- reserving the right to private contracting, privacy of medical records, advising caution about total reliance on Evidence Based Medicine may well fall into the implementation stage. |