Advocating for Psychologists in Nevada
Nevada Psychological Association
P.O. Box 400671, Las Vegas, NV 89140
888.654.0050 ph/fax
www.NVpsychology.org
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is aware that Change Healthcare – a unit of UnitedHealth Group (UHG) – was impacted by a cybersecurity incident in late February. HHS recognizes the impact this attack has had on health care operations across the country. HHS’ first priority is to help coordinate efforts to avoid disruptions to care throughout the health care system.
HHS is in regular contact with UHG leadership, state partners, and with numerous external stakeholders to better understand the nature of the impacts and to ensure the effectiveness of UHG’s response. HHS has made clear its expectation that UHG does everything in its power to ensure continuity of operations for all health care providers impacted and HHS appreciates UHG’s continuous efforts to do so. HHS is also leading interagency coordination of the Federal government’s related activities, including working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the White House, and other agencies to provide credible, actionable threat intelligence to industry wherever possible.
Changes to Medicare quality reporting in 2024
Psychologists who see Medicare beneficiaries should be aware of reweighting changes made to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System for 2024, but there are still things you can do to ensure successful participation and prepare for the future.
CMS releases 2024 Medicare Fee Schedule final rule
November 17, 2023
The 2024 Physician Fee Schedule final rule, released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, includes continued reimbursement of telehealth services, new billing codes, and positive changes to caregiver codes.
As the largest professional association of psychologists in the world, and the leading source for scientific knowledge, APA is uniquely well-suited to improve, promote, and apply psychological science in ways that will prepare our discipline to fulfill its potential. APA Services, Inc. is APA’s partner organization devoted to advocacy on behalf of APA members.
This page is divided into sections summarizing how APA and APA Services are elevating science: on the Hill, in the lab, on the career path, across the field, in the public, and in the world. Learn how our work is helping psychological scientists and how you can get involved.
Important news for psychologists about proposed changes in Medicare for 2024.
Date created: July 28, 2023
Psychologists can help protect and improve patient access to critical behavioral health services in Medicare and beyond.
https://www.apaservices.org/practice/reimbursement/government/cms-physician-fee-schedule
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OVERVIEW |
Now that the COVID-19 public health emergency has ended, psychologists should prepare for changes coming to telehealth practice at the federal and state levels.
The federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) enacted in 2020 ended on May 11, 2023. Having the PHE in place offered many benefits to consumers and providers, making it easier for patients to access a variety of health care services from their own homes via video calls or audio-only phone. The end of the PHE marks the end of several pandemic era flexibilities in health care.
On April 12, 2023, OCR announced that the Notifications of Enforcement Discretion issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act during the COVID-19 public health emergency will expire at 11:59 pm on May 11, 2023, due to the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. OCR is providing a 90-calendar day transition period for covered health care providers to come into compliance with the HIPAA Rules with respect to their provision of telehealth. The transition period will be in effect beginning on May 12, 2023 and will expire at 11:59 p.m. on August 9, 2023. OCR will continue to exercise its enforcement discretion and will not impose penalties on covered health care providers for noncompliance with the HIPAA Rules that occurs in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth during the 90-calendar day transition period.
OCR has issued guidance on how covered health care providers and health plans can provide audio-only telehealth consistent with the requirements of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules, including when OCR’s Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth - PDF is no longer in effect.
Clinicians are working to expand payment options, increase telehealth offerings, adjust their hours, and more to reach economically disadvantaged patients
People in lower income brackets have suffered disproportionately throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting higher numbers of mental health challenges due to stress (Benton, A., et al., Health and Human Services, 2021).
The new skills portion of the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP-2) brings a new focus on clinical practice skills—and evokes mixed responses across the psychology community
Last updated: April 1, 2023 Date created: February 24, 2023
Lawmaker, providers agree reform would ease access to care, but ‘it’s not going to pass in Nevada'
Nevada Current
By Camelot Todd
Monday, March 6th, 2023
State Sen. Roberta Lange (D-Las Vegas) tested the waters for a bill that would address Nevada’s ongoing health care provider shortage by mandating that insurance companies accept a provider who meets their qualifications and applies to be in their network.
The 82nd Session of the Nevada Legislature begins today. Democrats hold majorities in both chambers while the executive branch is in the hands of Governor Lombardo and his team. We are already tracking legislation that addresses student loan payment forgiveness, behavioral health pipeline development, and telehealth services. We are advocating for mental health parity and expanding ways to recruit and retain psychologists in Nevada.
The Legislative team is coming together after two retreats in Las Vegas and in Reno. Committee members include licensed psychologists who work for the state, universities, non-profits and in private practice settings. We welcome our student and ECP members and are glad to have the participation and interest of all involved. As a team, we are excited to represent NPA for the next 120 days of the Legislative Session!
PAYERS GUIDE
Utilizing Interprofessional Telephone/ Internet/Electronic Health Record Consultations CPT® Codes for Psychologists
Interprofessional Telephone/Internet/Electronic Health Record Consultation CPT codes have recently changed and will go into effect January 1, 2023. Because the service covered by these codes is EFFICIENT, ECONOMICAL, and EFFECTIVE, it is imperative to reimburse psychologists for
this work.
In this installment of “Let’s Get Technical,” our panel of psychologists review three platforms that make it easy to practice measurement-based care: Blueprint, Greenspace, and Mirah.
November 2022
Nearly three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for mental health services continues to increase while psychologists are struggling to provide needed care. These are among the key conclusions of APA’s 2022 COVID-19 Practitioner Impact Survey. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/practitioner/2022-covid-psychologist-workload
Demand for anxiety and depression treatment remains high, according to the survey results, while demand for treatment for trauma- and stress-related disorders and substance use disorders has grown. There is also increasing demand for mental health services from populations of color, younger people, and health care workers in particular. Increases in demand over the prior year built upon consistently reported increases in demand compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wed May 21, 2025Improving Outcomes Through Awareness: Socioeconomic Issues in Psychotherapy Category: CE Event |
Fri Sep 19, 2025Navigating Social Media Relationships: Parasocial to Self-Image and Everything in Between Category: CE Event |
