ACA Urges Department of Defense to Let All TRICARE Counselors Practice Independently

ACA president Marcheta Evans has written to Dr. Jonathan Woodson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, urging the Department of Defense to increase access to mental health services for TRICARE beneficiaries by removing the outdated physician referral and supervision requirement for all counselors meeting current TRICARE participation requirements. (Click here to see a copy of the letter.) Congress has directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to adopt regulations by June 20th to let counselors practice independently; all other covered mental health professionals have been allowed to practice independently for many years.

DOD staff indicate that they are unlikely to meet the June 20th deadline for issuing regulations. ACA will continue trying to work with DOD to gain the adoption of the regulations later this summer, and we will also work with our colleagues and supporters in Congress on this issue. Counselors concerned about this issue can write to the Department of Defense, and can also contact their Senators and Representative to ask them to get involved in pushing DOD to remove the physician referral and supervision requirement for seeing a licensed professional counselor. Many studies have concluded that military service members and their families need better access to mental health treatment.