Music Therapy NY State Task Force

Congratulations to our colleagues at the LCAT Advocacy Coalition, whose lobbying efforts resulted in passage of a bill that enables LCATs to bill Medicaid for creative arts therapy. It now goes to the Governor, who hopefully will sign it into law. We support and applaud their efforts in securing this win for LCATs in NY!

It is our hope that the passionate advocacy for the profession of music therapy also continues to shine as NYSTF pushes forward in pursuing an authentic music therapy license that captures the broad scope of practice of music therapists and helps ensure access and protection for clients. Please join us in this work!

Attention NYS Music Therapists!

You may have received an email inviting you to sign a collective letter encouraging members of NY Senate & Assembly Higher Education Committees to move our bill promoting music therapy licensure forward, if you live or work in their districts. Please check your email and join us in our effort to get music therapy licensure done in the state of New York! If you did not get such an email and would like to help out, please e-mail us at [email protected].

We have landed!
Time to make your way to the baggage claim carousel -
make sure you grab the right bag!
Let's get MT licensure done -
for NY MTs and Clients!

Dear Colleagues,

Like standing around waiting for your luggage after a long flight, this licensure effort might seem annoying and tedious. We get it. But we are so close! And like getting to the hotel room, unpacking your bags and finally being on vacation, this final effort is key to a great ending.

Please don’t leave your bags (or your clients) behind.
Send your letters of support or make those phone calls.
TODAY.

Here’s what you can do right now…

Email your Senate and Assembly representatives and ask them to sign on as co-sponsor for Assembly Bill A123, sponsored by Assemblywoman Michaëlle Solages (D-22) (same as Senate Bill S6819, sponsored by Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-23) https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/jessica-scarcella-spanton.

Now that we've landed, the more co-sponsors we can gather the easier the rest of our journey toward state recognition of music therapy as a profession will be!

OR – if they are already a co-sponsor, ask them to reach out to their colleagues, especially those who serve on the Higher Education Committee, to join them in supporting our bill by signing on as a co-sponsor.

Unlike the airlines, we are here to help you every step of the way.
Just email us at [email protected] or follow these clear instructions with sample letters to contact your representatives:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LS1TybihxL-gdBYU3fZxJ5kOZ8nQAYYkr76tOhO9pCU/edit?usp=sharing.

We are here to work together with you to get this done.

You can also make phone calls, attend their public events in their home districts (Zoom Town Halls and Community Updates are happening!), request an in-person meeting in their district office. We need students AND professionals to join in this effort! Clients, caregivers, colleagues - all are welcome!
Let’s get this done!!!

WE ARE CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF!!!
Seat backs and tray tables must be placed in their upright and locked positions.

LET'S GET MT LICENSURE DONE FOR NY MTS AND CLIENTS!

It’s time for TAKE-OFF! As one staffer put it, we ran out of “runway” for our bill last year, so this year we are tracking our “flight” very carefully! Thanks to our current bill sponsors, Assembly Bill A123, sponsored by Assemblywoman Michaëlle Solages (D-22) (same as Senate Bill S6819, sponsored by Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-23)
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/jessica-scarcella-spanton, we are cleared for take-off - we're ready to fly!

WHAT WE NEED:

* a few minutes of YOUR TIME to contact your Senate and Assembly representatives to encourage them to vote for our bill or even help us get to cruising altitude by signing on as a co-sponsor! See instructions and sample email templates here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18Gi3ZOlCWkyccdYVxMqOmsGpzm3rEo_F8hQMpxdceB0/edit?usp=sharing

* if you already participated by sending emails, THANK YOU and please let us know who you contacted so we can "track our flight path!"
We can’t do this without you!

You can also make phone calls, attend their public events in their home districts (YOUR neighborhood), request an in-person meeting in their district office. We need students AND professionals to join in this effort! Clients, caregivers, colleagues - all are welcome!

Let’s get this done!!!

CLEAR THE RUNWAY!

Let's get Music Therapy Licensure DONE for New York State Music Therapists & Clients!

WE NEED YOU to ACT NOW!

For the FIRST TIME EVER - We have been assured that our bill is a priority in Higher Education and have been asked by our Senate and Assembly sponsors to secure as many co-sponsors as possible by the start of the next legislative session in January.

Without this, we will not be cleared for take-off.

We can’t do this without you!

Please take a few minutes to contact your Senate and Assembly representatives to thank them for supporting our bill OR to sign on as a co-sponsor. See instructions and sample email templates here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18Gi3ZOlCWkyccdYVxMqOmsGpzm3rEo_F8hQMpxdceB0/edit?usp=sharing

You can also make phone calls, attend their public events in their home districts (YOUR neighborhood), request an in-person meeting in their district office. We need students AND professionals to join in this effort! Clients, caregivers, colleagues - all are welcome!

This is a critical time in our advocacy and we are SO close to achieving an authentic music therapy license in NYS! We’ve had a MT licensure bill since 2017 and we really thought 2023 was our year but, as one staffer put it, “we ran out of runway” for our current bill, Assembly Bill A123, sponsored by Assemblywoman Michaëlle Solages (D-22) (same as Senate Bill S6819, sponsored by Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-23).

You will be hearing from us frequently between now and the end of the year.

Let’s get this done!!!

It's go time!
Let's get MT licensure done -
for NY MTs and Clients!

The New York State Task Force on Occupational Regulation (NYSTF) is pleased to announce that our music therapy licensure bill, Assembly Bill A123, sponsored by Assemblywoman Michaëlle Solages (D-22), has been assigned a “same as” bill in the Senate. Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-23) is the sponsor for Senate Bill S6819.

This means that the tiered music therapy licensure bill that 79.7% of surveyed music therapists in the state are in favor of will be moving into committee during this legislative term. With your help (more on this to come!), the bill will come to a vote on the floor!

Here are some things we would like to clarify as the music therapy licensure bill moves forward:

This music therapy licensure bill does not:

-diminish, or compete with in any way, the efforts of the LCAT Advocacy Coalition, which is advocating for a bill to include outpatient care provided by LCATs in certain insurance policies. We applaud their tremendous efforts to support not only music therapy LCATS, but all LCATS under the Mental Health Practitioners law. Their bill is an insurance bill; our bill is a licensing bill. We hope that you will support both efforts, in that you’d want your healthcare professionals to be accurately licensed in a way that protects you as a consumer, and for your insurance to cover their services!

-remove the LCAT license or remove the ability for music therapists to get licensed as LCATS.

This music therapy licensure bill does:

-Officially recognize and protect the full scope and title of music therapy practice in New York State at all levels of practice, not just at the master’s level, and in all clinical settings and applications, including mental health.

-Ensure greater clarity regarding scope of services available, including recognition by state waiver programs that provide funding resources that support clients in accessing music therapy services.

-Protect consumers from potential harm, especially from those who hold themselves out as “music therapists” but have no formal training.

As always, we remain friendly and affirmative to all efforts to uplift and support the music therapy profession in the state of New York and are available to answer questions about music therapy practice, the LCAT application process, and LCAT practice requirements, including continuing education requirements.

We are so excited about this development and invite you to join us in our advocacy efforts. We will be sharing advocacy materials, including email and phone templates for your use in contacting your Senate and Assembly representatives, over the next few days and weeks.

The legislative session is scheduled to conclude on June 8, so there is much to do and very little time! Be on the lookout for our calls to action and advocacy efforts.

Please feel free to email us with any questions at [email protected].

Two End-of-Session Updates Including Important Information for LCATs!

FIRST:
Thank you to everyone who responded to our call-to-action to contact Senate and Assembly representatives on the Higher Education Committees and seek their support for our licensure bill S21A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/S21 (same as A5027A). If you haven’t had a chance to send your letters yet, the legislative session ends next Thursday, June 2 – there’s still time! Although we have been informed that no more professions bills will be moved during this session, you can help to lay the groundwork for the next legislative session.

SECOND:
If you have not seen information on other platforms about A1171A: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/A11710 (same as S6574), we are sharing it below from a posting on the NYCCAT (New York Coalition of Creative Arts Therapists) listserv. Please note that this legislation only applies to LCATs and does not include the practice of music therapy. The task force continues to do our due diligence regarding the implications of this bill.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dear Creative Arts Therapies of NY State Community,

We urgently need your help. Yesterday, A1171A passed the Senate and Assembly!!

This NYS legislation requires private insurance companies to cover services by LCATs —a huge step forward in achieving parity between art therapists and other mental health professions in the state.

We only have a 30 day window to advocate.

Now, the bill goes to the governor of New York for her signature. The last time this was passed in 2019 (A670A), it was vetoed by Governor Cuomo. We CANNOT ALLOW THE GOVERNOR TO VETO THIS AGAIN. We need to act fast to ensure that Governor Kathy Hochul signs the bill into law in its current form. As you may be aware, the governor recently excluded creative art therapists specifically from a similar bill, S7761, which expanded Medicaid coverage to include licensed mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists.

ACT NOW! Contact Governor Kathy Hochul and urge her to sign A1171A into law in its current form! Now more than ever, all New Yorkers need access to mental health services, including art therapy.

There is a limited time to convince the Governor.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW:

Use the template message below, or share your own story about why Governor Hochul must sign A1171A to support mental health care.
Contact her online, via phone, or send her a letter in the mail. OR, CHOOSE TO DO ALL THREE!
Post this call for action on all your social media outlets.
Encourage family, friends, colleagues and clients to reach out to the Governor to ensure insurance coverage.
NYU Programs in Art Therapy and Drama Therapy are compiling video testimonials for a brief PSA to flood on social media. If you would like to record a brief video, please be in touch. If you have clients or colleagues willing to record a video, please be in touch.

Online:
https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form

By phone:
1-518-474-8390

Through the mail:
The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Sample message for a letter or phone conversation:

Governor Hochul,

I am a Licensed Creative Art Therapist (LCAT) in __[YOUR CITY]_____, NY, and provide essential mental healthcare to many New Yorkers. I am writing to express my support for A1171A in its current form, which requires private insurance companies to cover mental health services, including creative arts therapies. From the increase in mental health issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, to the racial trauma so many are experiencing, and the seemingly unending waves of violence in New York and the rest of the nation, now is the time to expand access to affordable mental health care. Creative arts therapists are credentialed mental health clinicians with Master’s level (or higher) degrees trained in a creative art discipline (art, dance, drama, music, poetry) and therapy that serve diverse communities. Creative arts therapies are particularly effective during times of crisis, especially in coping with isolation, changes in circumstance, trauma, and grief—and with people struggling to benefit from talk therapy interventions.

Please sign A1171A in its current form today and allow New Yorkers to have access to mental health services, especially as we face a mental health crisis in our state and across the country!

Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME AND CREDENTIALS]
HOME ADDRESS
EMAIL ADDRESS
PHONE NUMBER

Let's get this done finally. New York State needs more coverage for creative arts therapies.
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You can also always keep up-to-date by checking our FB page at: https://www.facebook.com/nystf/

In the spirit of service,
The New York State Task Force on Occupational Regulation
Mid-Atlantic Region/American Music Therapy Association

The work of the task force is supported in part by membership in AMTA.
If you are not a member, please consider joining: https://www.musictherapy.org/
If you are a member, please consider donating:
https://secure.givelively.org/donate/american-music-therapy-association/support-music-therapy-in-2022

Reminder! The deadline to register has been extended until Saturday April 16th at 12 noon. We hope to see you there!

NYS Zoom Meeting: Monday, April 18th, 7:30 - 9:30 pm ET
This Zoom meeting will provide brief updates on LCAT topics
followed by information on our letter writing campaign targeting Senate and Assembly Higher Education Committee.
Please fill out the following Google form to receive the Zoom link by 12:00 noon on Saturday, April 16th to attend:
https://forms.gle/j1UAZh7VSxQACeEN8

NYSTF Letter Writing Advocacy Zoom Registration Monday, April 18, 2022 - 7:30 - 9:30 pm EST The NY State Task Force on Occupational Regulation (NYSTF) invites you to participate in a focused letter-writing campaign targeting members of the Senate and Assembly Higher Education Committees to push our licensure bill over the finish line in the curre...

NYS Zoom Meeting: Monday, April 18th, 7:30 - 9:30 pm ET

This Zoom meeting will provide brief updates on LCAT topics
followed by information on our letter writing campaign targeting Senate and Assembly Higher Education Committee.

Please fill out the following Google form to receive the Zoom link by 12:00 noon on Friday, April 15th to attend:
https://forms.gle/j1UAZh7VSxQACeEN8

NYSTF Letter Writing Advocacy Zoom Registration Monday, April 18, 2022 - 7:30 - 9:30 pm EST The NY State Task Force on Occupational Regulation (NYSTF) invites you to participate in a focused letter-writing campaign targeting members of the Senate and Assembly Higher Education Committees to push our licensure bill over the finish line in the curre...

Reminder: To attend by Zoom you need to register by 12 pm tomorrow, Wednesday April 6th.

NYS Meeting:
Friday, April 8th
5:00 - 5:50 pm Eastern
Join in-person at the Harrisburg conference or virtually by Zoom.
If you are attending the conference in person, there’s nothing else you need to do other than show up!
If you are attending the conference virtually *OR* not attending the conference at all, but want to attend the NYS meeting, please fill out the following Google form to receive the Zoom link:
https://forms.gle/nbydg2ckZTPcKLjbA by 12:00 noon on Wednesday, April 6. You will receive the meeting link upon submission of your registration.

NY State Meeting Registration - MAR 2022 Conference Friday, April 8, 2022 - 5:00 - 5:50 pm EST The NY State Task Force invites you to the NY State Meeting at the Mid-Atlantic Region's Annual Conference on Friday, April 8, 2022 from 5 - 5:50 pm EST. You can attend in person at the conference location in Harrisburg or virtually by Zoom if you are not a...

Mark your calendars!
NYS Meeting:
Friday, April 8th
5:00 - 5:50 pm Eastern
Join in-person at the Harrisburg conference or virtually by Zoom.

If you are attending the conference in person, there’s nothing else you need to do other than show up!

If you are attending the conference virtually *OR* not attending the conference at all, but want to attend the NYS meeting, please fill out the following Google form to receive the Zoom link:
https://forms.gle/nbydg2ckZTPcKLjbA by 12:00 noon on Wednesday, April 6. You will receive the meeting link upon submission of your registration.

NY State Meeting Registration - MAR 2022 Conference Friday, April 8, 2022 - 5:00 - 5:50 pm EST The NY State Task Force invites you to the NY State Meeting at the Mid-Atlantic Region's Annual Conference on Friday, April 8, 2022 from 5 - 5:50 pm EST. You can attend in person at the conference location in Harrisburg or virtually by Zoom if you are not a...