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To find out who your legislator is call 202-224-3121. |
Update May 2005 -
DC Coalition on Confidentiality
Danille Drake, PhD
With a good deal of work behind us, it does appear that a consensus has been
reached that will uphold the DC law to safeguard patient confidentiality on
routine claim review forms to be used by insurers in the District.
Our most recent meeting at the office of DC Insurance Commissioner Larry Mirel
included as before, representatives from the major insurance carriers along with
a representative from clinical social work, psychology, psychiatry, and licensed
professional counselors. To the great relief of all, we refined a working draft
of a form to be used for routine outpatient mental health claims.
Holding to the strictest interpretation of the DC Mental Health Act, this form
requests limited information as allowable under the law. We will have one final
meeting with attorneys present, to ratify this draft of a
routine claim review form. Given that all parties have worked closely in
consultation with legal counsel throughout this process, it is expected that the
form will be published to replace those currently in use by third party payors.
Because of the complexities of our three jurisdictions in which policies are
written, patients and clients reside, and clinicians practice, Mr. Mirel will
begin to work with Maryland’s insurance commissioner in an attempt to define and
resolve some contradictions in DC and Maryland’s respective laws governing
confidentiality.
One question that has arisen is whether the practitioner is in violation of DC
law if he or she provides more information to a third party payor than is
stipulated in the law. Since the information belongs to the patient/ client,
they are at liberty to request it from the therapist and submit it themselves,
if they wish, to their insurer. A catch here, is the ethical dilemma concerning
this patient/client’s prerogative, that may conflict with what, in the
therapist’s best judgment, may be considered harmful to the patient, if
additional information is made available. The law does, however, protect private
notes that are not part of the official medical record.
Once the final version of the claim review form is formally approved by the Commissioner, a copy will be made available to members of the Society, either via the web or printed in the next issue of the newsletter. The Taskforce’s next focus will be to clarify and define the concept of Independent Review.
For GSCSW Legislative
Information contact:
GWSCSW
5028 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington DC 20016
Phone 202 537 0007
Fax 202 364-0435
Email GWSCSW@gmail.com
Website http://www.gwscsw.org