She did not seem at all concerned that the plan might lose many experienced clinicians or jeopardize the continuity of care so important to the provision of mental health services. . The calls I have received from our members indicate that many New York clinical social work professionals are deciding either to resign from the panel or to refuse to accept new patients from the MBC plans. Therefore the quality and the access to these plans will likely be reduced even as premiums charged remain the same or increase. Once on this list, they will not receive authorization for future treatment. Therefore, since MBC is not officially terminating clinicians either with or without cause, it is circumventing NYS law S-7553 which provides for due process before such termination occurs.
Suspension is, in effect, a termination.
I am gravely concerned that this consolidation of managed care plans and the resulting diminution of reimbursement will spread to all plans, thereby significantly changing the quality and accessibility of mental health services for enrollees. There are already several plans in NYS which appear to offer mental health benefits, however, in reality, such treatment is extremely difficult to access. If mental health services become more difficult to obtain in our state, both patients in need of psychiatric care and society as a whole, will have to pay a dear price. If true, quality of care would be substantially reduced. Thank you for your consideration of this most serious matter.