Meghan Marcum, PsyD, chief clinical officer at A Better Life Recovery, explained that, on a national level, the American Psychological Association has partnered with Senator Sherrod Brown and Representative Jan Schakowsky to introduce a bill that designates psychologists as physicians under Medicare.
"This designation already applies to every other doctorate level practitioner and would ease restrictions on certain requirements making psychology services more easily accessed by others," Dr. Marcum told POPSUGAR. If the bill passes, psychologists will no longer be required to work with a supervising psychiatrist for Medicare patients.
"This is critical in rural areas where psychologists are available but psychiatry is limited," she explained. As of now, no services can be delivered without a psychiatrist serving as supervisor — a rule that Dr. Marcum describes as "an unnecessary measure given psychologists have their own licenses and scope of practice."
"Essentially, the designation of 'physician' to psychologists would allow individuals to have increased access to psychological services without changing the scope of practice or requirements of what it means to be a psychologist," she said. Make sure that your Senator and House representative are committed to voting "yes" on this bill.
