Third Party Payers

Effective January 1, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the following Medicare policy changes that affect clinical social workers who are Medicare providers.

Under The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, clinical social workers became eligible as Medicare providers to seek reimbursement under Medicare Part B for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses performed in an outpatient setting.

Effective January 1, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the following Medicare policy changes that affect clinical social workers who are Medicare providers.

Beginning July 1, 2008, clinical social workers who are Medicare providers received an increase in reimbursement. This increase is the result of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA), enacted on July 15, 2008 (also known as HR 6331, public law number 110­-275).

Medicaid is the largest program in the nation, providing health and mental health services to more than 10 million individuals and families with low income and few resources. It became law in 1965, as a cooperative venture between federal and state governments to provide health care to eligible needy people, including children, the aged, the blind, and the disabled.

Magellan Behavioral Health Care announced on October 8, 2003 that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York gave final approval for them to exit Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.