Article archive / February 1, 2013
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 6. Source pages: 12.
(Editor’s note: The Times caught up with Dr. Alicia Pellegrin who is the current Legislative Chair for the Louisiana Psychological Association. She took on the job during one of the most complex times in the association’s history. She agreed to shares some of the news of what her group is working one, and some plans for the future.
She also agreed to allow us to use the photo of Zack, her therapy dog. Alicia says that Zack helps her with both the decisions and the stress of her volunteer position where she works to help the profession of psychology in Louisiana.
Dr. Alicia Pellegrin here with her therapy dog, Zack. Dr. Pellegrin is involved in the Louisiana Psychological Association Legislative Chair. She told the Times, “Zach the wonder dog is included in all major decisions regarding legislative matters.
PT: Dr. Pellegrin, can you tell me something about the legislative issues you intend to be working on in 2013?
AP: “We are working on many things at the moment, and we don’t see that changing. We have a lot of catch up work to do and we don’t want to lose any time. We’re working on and monitoring important issues that affect our members and the public.
“First, there is a great deal of concern and confusion regarding the state Medicaid restructuring, not only getting the current evaluations authorized but in our research we are finding out that services that psychologists perform, that are included in our practice act, aren’t reimbursed, including psychoanalysis, multifamily group–but we are reimbursed for single group sessions– hypnotherapy, and biofeedback, as well as a few others, all of which are covered for physicians. This is a major concern.
“We have also seen a rate differential between medical psychologists and those regulated by LSBEP, even when the training and services provided are the same.
“We learned in our meeting with DHH that those who spearheaded this 3-year plan did not know of these problems. We are checking in to all of that. The Magellan representative told us that many of the codes were for inpatient services, and because of that, contributed to the confusion. But even so, these are serious omissions.
“Fortunately, our attorney Kevin Hayes was able to get together with Jerry Phillips [Under- secretary and Director of the states Office of Management and Budget] and look more closely at these issues. DHH seemed genuinely confused by this state of affairs, told us several times that our questions were quite reasonable and that they would be investigated immediately.
“We have already received encouraging news, with more information to follow, and we are keeping a very close watch on it and it depends on what they tell us, as to what will happen next.
“The forensic issue is another, much more complicated problem. It looks like it is a clear budget issue, but it is much more complicated.
“Specifically, we have seen a drop in the number of referrals for forensic and clinical evaluations for such important purposes as risk assessment for adolescent offenders, termination of parental rights, and other critical issues.
“Despite the impressive work of Dr. Jesse Lambert, who has spearheaded this for us, our attempts to reach out to Magellan and DHH have not been successful. Dr. Lambert, is a forensic psychologist, and he understands these issues very well, but we’re still concerned.
PT: What other issues are you and your team watching?
AP: “We’re still watching the ABA issue closely. The commission is still meeting and will have a final report soon. We were very fortunate that our representative to that commission, Dr. Lacey Seymour, was able to have an exception for psychologists included, meaning that licensed psychologists who have been doing behavioral analysis will be exempt from whatever is the final outcome.
“We have to decide how we want to go forward with this and the Executive Council is meeting this Saturday, with Kevin Hayes, our lobbyist to discuss this further.
“The main priority of the legislative committee, and this is an ongoing effort, is to educate the legislators and let them know who psychologists are and what psychology has to offer in terms of mental health services and other types of contributions from our field and profession, to the general public.
“Many of them don’t actually even understand that we are a wholly separate entity from the state board, that we are not the LSBEP [Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists], and that we don’t necessarily have the same interests as the board.
“This was one of the problems that came about in the ABA issue, many in the community thought that the state association was in lockstep with the board. We are different. Of course both entities –LPA and the LSBEP– are interested in public welfare, but we are able to do much more in terms of lobbying and educating.
PT: Do you have a plan for the next few years that are different from past years?
AP: “Yes. In addition to our ongoing efforts of getting out and letting legislators know who we are and what we do, we are looking for prosocial opportunities to demonstrate that we are not just a trade or guild organization, but that one of our main goals is to serve and to be a part of the community.
“We will be much more visible and have a presence at various local educational and service oriented venues to show the public that we are ready to provide help where help is needed. We are always looking for volunteers to help with these projects. This is especially important now, given the severe cut backs in mental health services, especially for those who can least afford such cuts. In addition to serving the community, this will help legislators understand the depth and breadth of what the science and profession of psychology has to offer the citizens of Louisiana.
“We are also very excited about our efforts, led by our President, Dr. Bryan Gros, to reach out to students and the academic psychologists, looking at how we can help one another. LPA has a new committee for student concerns and we are looking at ways to engage our academic colleagues and we want to include them and their ideas in our overall legislative strategy.
“We also plan to reach out to the LPC community to look for ways in which our interests are aligned legislatively. Dr. Gros is already meeting with them and I will be reaching out to the legislative people on the LPC board. I believe we can discuss our mutual concerns, in a collaborative manner. And, develop ways to resolve issues without legislative battles and to show that not only are we capable of working with others, but that we actively look for opportunities in which to do so.
“We are looking at another couple of initiatives that we are working on, where we are a bit too early in the process to comment.
“We did obtain a small but important legislative grant from APA. But we are hoping to engage more psychologists and more LPA members in legislative goals. We want everyone to understand that we are in this for the long term, and that we welcome input and participation. We think we are headed in an exciting and positive direction, not only for LPA members, but for our larger community. We’d like to invite all of those in our psychologist community to join and help us.
“If psychologists want to know what they can do to help, please contact us. We are asking for new members and also PAC contributions, and most importantly, we’d like everyone to share their thoughts and ideas with us.”
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