Monitor on Psychology - September 2011 - (Page 21)

orientation in 29 states, and it’s legal to dismiss workers based on their gender identity in 37 states. Discriminatory workplace practices targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people harm their mental health and are detrimental to the well-being of all employees, APA’s action alert said. n Getting psychologists included in Medicare accountable care organizations In response to strong advocacy by APA, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has included clinical psychologists on the list of providers who can join accountable care organizations (ACOs), networks of physicians, hospitals and other health-care providers that provide coordinated care to enrolled Medicare patients. Patients enroll voluntarily in ACOs, and the networks can’t limit where a patient goes for services. APA’s CEO Norman B. Anderson, PhD, and Katherine C. Nordal, PhD, executive director for professional practice, thanked Sebelius for her decision in a letter June 3. “When an ACO includes clinical psychologists as participants, it better ensures integration of mental and behavioral health and substance use disorder services with physical health services and a more comprehensive integrated care system,” they wrote. According to the Department of Helper software delivers: Health and Human Services, ACOs could provide better, more cost-efficient health • Easy-to-use billing and scheduling features designed for care to Medicare patients, saving as psychologists in private or small group practice much as $960 million over three years if • Quicker reimbursements with electronic claims coordinated care became widespread. • Comprehensive Electronic Medical Record n Defending science research funding Federal research funding for the social, behavioral and economic sciences continued to come under attack in Congress this spring and summer, driven by doubts about the legitimacy of behavioral and social sciences and political pressure to reduce federal spending. To defend important research programs against cuts, APA’s Science Government Relations Office is highlighting the contributions of • Access to discounted online Continuing Education Units psychology researchers to critical national problems. Key actions this spring and summer included: • Defending specific programs. In May, APA helped defeat an amendment that would have stripped research funding from the Office of Naval Research’s Human Social Culture Behavior Modeling Program, which uses psychological research to help sailors and Marines navigate unfamiliar cultures. APA emailed an alert to House members urging them to vote against the amendment. • Defending social and behavioral science funding. APA member and psychology researcher Hillary Anger Elfenbein, PhD, testified at a House subcommittee oversight hearing June 2 on the National Science Foundation’s Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate’s research portfolio. She argued for the importance of behavioral research, and pointed out that the directorate received $255 million in congressional funding in 2010, compared with $1.35 billion for the NSF’s Directorate and less time with paperwork! Spend more time helping people Visit www.helper.com/APA for a special APA Monitor promotional price! Call us at: 1.800.343.5737 O er expires December 31, 2011 septeMber 2011 • Monitor on psychology APA_Monitor_ad_7_11.indd 1 7/25/2011 12:18:49 PM 21 http://www.helper.com/APA http://www.helper.com/APA

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - September 2011

Monitor on Psychology - September 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Supreme Court hears psychologists on prison and video game cases
Antipsychotics are overprescribed in nursing homes
New MCAT likely to recognize the mind-body connection
A $2 million boost for military and families
In Brief
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE
On Your Behalf
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
TIME CAPSULE
QUESTIONNAIRE
Speaking of Education
SCIENCE WATCH
An uncertain future for American workers
Advocating for psychotherapy
PRACTICE PROFILE
ETHICALLY SPEAKING
Seared in our memories
Helping kids cope in an uncertain world
APA and Nickelodeon team up
Muslims in America, post 9/11
Bin Laden’s death
‘They expect us to be there’
Answering the call of public policy
Candidates answer final questions
APA News
Division Spotlight
New leaders
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION
Disaster relief training
Honoring teaching excellence
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - September 2011