Government-Commissioned Study Recommends TRICARE Independent Practice for Counselors

The long-awaited Institute of Medicine (IOM) TRICARE study was released on Friday, February 12^th. ACA is pleased that the study unequivocally recommends independent practice authority for professional counselors.

The study was commissioned by Congress to provide guidance on whether or not to remove the physician referral and supervision requirement for counselors’ services within TRICARE, the health care program serving members of the armed forces and their dependents.

ACA commends IOM for endorsing TRICARE counselor independent practice, but we also note that the report contains some challenges. The report recommends that only those counselors graduating from a CACREP-accredited, 60-credit program and having passed the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) be recognized for independent practice. ACA recognizes the hardship this would cause for many qualified counselors, and will be working with Congress to address these barriers in the course of removing the physician referral and supervision requirement from current statute.

The full study is available on the IOM website at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/Provision-of-Mental-Health-Counseling-Services-Under-TRICARE.aspx. ACA public policy staff will be analyzing the report in greater detail in the coming days at http://www.counseling.org/publicpolicy.

For more information, contact Scott Barstow with ACA’s public policy office at 800-347-6647 x234, email: sbarstow@counseling.org.