Dear Members,

Thank you so much for your support by renewing your membership and attending our morning meetings. Our Program Chairs Kari and Marti are working hard to present timely and relevant materials. Heather is making our website friendlier and Carol is visiting schools to present CAMFT and provide support to interns and trainees.  It was a pleasure to host AAMFT at our meeting and we will be working with them in the future.

We are really pleased to announce that our “Prelicensed Meeting” is being recreated as the 3000 Club! This is one of the fabulous ideas we brought back from the Leadership Committee. Opening up new times and dates for the Interns and Trainees to meet will expand their program to include presentations from intern sites, identifying supervision, and improving interview and resume skills. Several of our own members are volunteering to share their experiences and provide guidance to our future therapists.  This will also include networking and communicating with each other to provide needed support.

We are now working on establishing a Mentoring Program. Though we would all like to give back to our community, only a few Licensed Therapists have the time or energy to provide guidance to an intern. There are only so many hours in the day. So we are asking for about 3 hours. We are proposing a “Night Out”. This will be an opportunity to meet with several interns. We would like to have a meeting three times a year. We will be asking experienced Therapists to be on a panel and take questions and provide answers for the interns and trainees. If you would like to share your knowledge as an LMFT and how you achieved your license, we would grateful for your input.  Remember that when teaching you always learn something. These evenings will be beneficial for both parties.

We are also working on a consulting group for practicing therapists and a support group for newly licensed therapists that will provide presenters on how to get on insurance panels, marketing, and finances, etc.

This is a very exciting year for CAMFT. There are new opportunities coming. Provided by our perseverance and lobbying with the State and Federal Legislature, these could really positively affect all MFTs. Remember the election closes on April 10, 2014.  If you have not received your official ballot, please contact the CAMFT office at (858) 292-2638 to have another mailed to you.

Again we are all quite humble by the amount of support our Chapter has been given while implementing the new programs. Thank you all so much.

Jill P. Lawler, LMFT #51392

Welcome to the section of the SVC-CAMFT newsletter, Legal Beagle written by Darlene Davis, LMFT. The chapter thought it would be helpful to keep you updated on new laws, legislative pursuits or actions, as well as ongoing legal and ethical dilemmas we all face in our career as Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, Interns, and Trainees. Please feel free to ask questions that you have and I will do my best to investigate and post your answer in the newsletter. Please note that articles are based on information from CAMFT and/or the BBS and have been researched to the best of my ability. This is not meant to be legal advice.  Please contact CAMFT or Board of Behavioral Sciences for any legal matters you need assistance for.

The below information was taken directly from Barbara Griswold. She can be contacted at: www.theinsurancemaze.com

Changes in CPT Codes and DSM not enough? There is now an updated version of the CMS-1500 claim form that healthcare providers use to bill most insurance plans.

When do we start using the new form? Plans are accepting both old and new forms now, but as of April 1, 2014, they will accept claims only on the new 2/12 version of the CMS 1500 claim form, regardless of the dates of service you are billing for.  I suggest you start using the new forms immediately, as a claim mailed before April 1st might not reach them until after the 1st.

Why the change? The new 2/12 version of the CMS-1500 form (often incorrectly still called the HCFA-1500) accommodates upcoming diagnosis code changes (more on this below).

What's gone: Several questions have been deleted, including client's marital and employment status (Box 8), Insured's employer or school  (Box 11b), and Other Insured's Date of Birth, Sex, and Employer (Box 9b and 9c). Even the "Balance Due" box (Box 30) is gone.

What's new:  While you might find it hard to detect any changes, in the upper left hand corner the "1500" in a circle has been replaced with a black square symbol, known as a QR code. And 12 diagnoses can now be reported on the form instead of four. Since the DSM-5 ditched multi-axial diagnosis, this allows health professionals to record more codes to better describe the client's presenting issues. You may notice the diagnosis code spaces now use letters A through L instead of numbers. These letters will have to be used again in Box 24E (Diagnosis Pointer) to list which diagnoses were focused on in the session. Also in Box 21, you'll see "ICD Ind." to identify whether your diagnosis is from the current International Classification of Diseases Manual, the ICD-9, or the ICD-10, coming October 1, 2014. Between the dashed vertical lines, write a "9" if you are using the ICD-9, and a "0" if using the ICD-10. The ICD Indicator will be important as we transition to the ICD-10.  Confused? read on.....

What's this ICD you are referring to? Think of the ICD as a book that simply lists all the medical and psychiatric diagnosis codes that exist. Then think of the DSM as a chapter of this book, listing all the psychiatric codes from that ICD list, with each described in detail as to symptoms, prevalence, differential diagnoses, etc. So when you use a DSM code, you are using an ICD code. However, a new set of ICD codes is coming out in October 2014. The good news is that the DSM-5 lists both the ICD-9 and ICD-10 code for each diagnosis. Use ICD-9 codes (listed in both the DSM-4 and 5) until October 1, and after that switch over to the ICD-10 codes.  And don't confuse ICD diagnosis codes with the CPT procedure codes that changed in 2013.

What you need to do: Purchase some of the new forms so you have them on hand when needed - just click here or visit the order page of my website at www.theinsurancemaze.com  . Even if you file electronically, it's a good idea to have a stack of paper claims in case you need to file a corrected claim, for appeals, or if you need to fax a claim to expedite processing when there is a problem with electronic submission. Then make sure your claims software, clearinghouse, or billing service is ready for the transition. Also, purchase a DSM-5, and get trained on the coming ICD-10 diagnosis changes.

To get more details about filling out the form, and to answer all your insurance questions, preorder my soon-to-be-released, newly-updated insurance manual at www.theinsurancemaze.com.

Also, check out the NUCC's guide at  http://tinyurl.com/nuccmanual.

At my website you can also sign up for my free e-newsletter, view my workshop schedule, or read helpful articles about all kinds of insurance topics- don't miss important updates like this! 

*****************************************

Darlene Davis, LMFT
Executive Director HOPE; Healthy Outcomes for Personal Enrichment
MFT Stipend Coordinator for Greater Sacramento
Instructor of University of Phoenix
www.darlenedavismft.com
www.hope-counselingcenter.org

SACRAMENTO VALLEY CHAPTER OF CAMFT

ADVERTISING APPLICATION

2014-2015 PRINTED MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY

Your membership in Sacramento Valley Chapter of California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (SVC-CAMFT) offers you a free listing in our web Membership Directory and printed directory. To enhance your presence in the 2014-2015 printed Membership Directory and to all other Mental Health related professionals interested, we offer advertisement at an affordable fee schedule. The directory is widely distributed to community Psychiatrists, Physicians, Attorneys, Public Health Agencies, Government Agencies, Community Service Agencies, and many other professionals.

•              The directory will be published in May 2014, and distributed in June, therefore, all advertising must be submitted by April 30, 2014. *

•              Please submit your camera-ready Black & White ad in MS WORD, JPEG, TIF or PDF format.

•              Please be aware that if your ad is not PDF format, the layout, font and graphics may be changed.

•              Email the file as an attachment to carol.nelson922@gmail.com, or mail the digital file on CD to SVC-CAMFT P O Box 163385 Sacramento, Ca. 95816.

•              Include a fax or email address where the proof can be sent for approval before ad goes to print.

•              Send a check for advertising fee made out to: SVC-CAMFT. Enclose with CD, or if emailing file,
send check separately to SCV-CAMFT P O Box 163385 Sacramento, Ca. 95816 or pay by PayPal\Credit card here

All of the following must be submitted with the advertisement:

Name: _______________________________________________

Phone: ___________________________________

Mailing Address: _______________________________________

City: ______________________ State: _____ Zip: ___________

Email: _______________________________________________

* Please note, the publication of any advertisement by SVC-CAMFT is not an endorsement of, or responsible for any claims made in advertisement or promotion of services. SVC-CAMFT reserves the right to edit or refuse any material submitted for advertisement.

Please contact Carol Nelson, LMFT, SVC-CAMFT Membership Chair at  (707) 418-5686 or email at carol.nelson922@gmail.com for any questions or further information.