On January 1, 2016 the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) implemented a decreased Medicaid reimbursement rate for group psychotherapy services. The new rates result in a 50% decrease in service reimbursements to providers, making it increasingly if not impossible for qualified individuals to provide such services to populations that need them most.
The lower rates may cause group therapy providers to offer fewer, or shorter, less effective group therapy sessions, or to cease providing these services altogether.
With the growing number of Medicaid beneficiaries, now about one third of Vermonters, it is irresponsible to attempt to balance the state budget by cutting access to key services that are utilized by vulnerable populations. We ask that you join us in urging legislators to reverse these cuts, which could have detrimental effects on access to invaluable group therapy services and the overall health and wellbeing of our communities.
You can locate information for your elected officials on the Vermont General Assembly website here.
You can also view a copy of the letter NAMI Vermont has sent to Senate Appropriations Committee Members here, and a letter on these cuts that Dr. Rick Barnett of the Vermont Psychological Association sent to the Green Mountain Care Board here.
