Authorizes licensed creative arts therapists to bill Medicaid directly for their services.
Summary
S06025 would amend New York’s Social Services Law to allow licensed creative arts therapists to bill Medicaid directly for services they provide within their lawful scope of practice. The bill adds creative arts therapists to the existing Medicaid coverage language that already applies to mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists, so that these providers can be reimbursed directly when their services would otherwise be covered by Medicaid.
The measure is framed as a reimbursement and access-to-care bill rather than a scope-of-practice expansion. It expressly states that nothing in the amendment changes or expands the legal scope of practice for creative arts therapists, and it takes effect 90 days after becoming law.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would change the Social Services Law’s Medicaid reimbursement rules by making licensed creative arts therapists eligible to bill Medicaid directly for covered services. This would affect Medicaid administration, provider enrollment and billing practices, and could improve access to mental health and therapeutic services for Medicaid recipients by broadening the pool of providers who can be paid directly under the program. It would also align creative arts therapists with other licensed behavioral health professionals already referenced in the statute.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill. It passed the Senate Health Committee unanimously, advanced through the Senate Finance Committee with strong support, and received a large bipartisan majority on the Senate floor. The lack of recorded committee transcript debate in the provided materials suggests there was little visible public controversy in the available record.
Contention
The main legal point addressed by the bill is whether creative arts therapists should be treated like other licensed mental health providers for Medicaid billing purposes. Support appears to center on reimbursement parity and improved access to care, while the bill’s explicit disclaimer that it does not expand scope of practice suggests an effort to avoid opposition from those concerned about professional licensing boundaries. Any contention would likely come from fiscal or administrative concerns about Medicaid costs and billing oversight, but the voting record provided shows limited resistance.
Expands the definition of mental health care provider to include licensed psychoanalysts, creative arts therapists and behavior analysts for purposes of certain sex offenses committed during a treatment session, consultation, interview, or examination.
Further providing for legislative intent, for definitions, for license required, for State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, for powers and functions of board, for qualifications for license, for procedures for licensing, for exemption from licensure examination, for reciprocity, for endorsement of out-of-State licenses and for reinstatement of license; providing for restriction on use of title "licensed professional art therapist" and related titles; and further providing for penalties, for license renewal, records and fees and for unlawful practice.
"licensed associate art therapist" and related titles; and further providing for penalties, for license renewal, records and fees and for unlawful practice.
Clinical art therapists licensure establishment provision, Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy membership modifications provision, and appropriation
Adds licensed mental health counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists to the health and social services practitioners included under the health care proxy law, the family health care decisions act, and nonhospital orders not to resuscitate.