The
mission of the Oregon Coalition for Consumer Mental Health
Protection and Choice is to provide information and resources
about specific legislation in the State of Oregon that addresses
the issues of consumer access, consumer choice,
and consumer protection in mental health care.
We favor legislation
that would require health benefit plans to provide coverage
for services rendered by professional counselors or marriage
and family therapists acting within their scope of practice
if plan covers services by other professionals providing same
or similar services.
In
the area of consumer protection, we support legislation that
would restrict
the use of certain terms in advertising and promoting mental
health care, e.g., counselor and therapist, to
providers who are regulated by a state licensing board. Such
boards include the Oregon
Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists.
Current
Legislative Initiative
During
the current "lull" in the run-up to the 2009 legislative
session, the Coalition and its allies are considering new
approaches to achieve its goals. While our goals have not
changed - consumer protection and choice - our strategies
will. If you would like to play a part in this process, please
contact us.
Past Legislative Initiatives
A
revised Consumer
Mental Health Protection and Choice
bill was submitted by the House
Committee on Human Services and Women's Wellness
in
the February, 2008 session of the Oregon
State Legislature. This bill, HB
3616, was ultimately defeated in a last minute vote in
the House on February 22, 2008. (See the News
article of March 29, 2008.)
What you can
do...
Stay up-to-date with the News section
of this website. We'll post the latest developments in Salem
as they occur. (Maybe even before!)
Browse the Resources section.
There you will find contact information for your legislators,
information about committee hearings, background reading on
mental health care and consumers, and much more.
The
Talking Points section lays
out the issues as we see them in bite-sized morsels. Feel
free to adapt these points in your own correspondence with
friends, colleagues, and legislators.
Questions?
Contact us and we can help you decide how to pitch in! Or
contact us anyway and let us know what you think...
