Saturday
December 13, 2008
10 am to 12 Noon

Host: Karen Leigh
Please e-mail her for details.

Preface

In February 2006, Terry Bowman moved to Northampton, England and joined the Women’s Service Division at St. Andrew’s Healthcare (SAH). This division was in the process of using the Model of Human Occupation Screening Tool (MOHOST), based on the Model of Human Occupation by Gary Kielhofner, DrPH, OTR, FAOTA, as a primary assessment tool. The MOHOST was created in the United Kingdom in 2001 by Sue Parkinson, Dip. COT, and Kirsty Forsyth, PhD, SROT, OTR. Read more »

The US Congress did pass the mental health parity bill. AOTA has an author on a bill at the federal level to make occupational therapy a lead in opening cases in the home health context.

OTAC was able to get Blue Cross to reverse reimbursement reductions last spring (2008) after they initially proposed 50% or more reductions in reimbursement for OT services. After OTAC met with the Blue Cross executives, they permanently reversed the reimbursement reductions. These successes support the notion that advocacy works.

OTAC is presently working with the group Autism Speaks to get a bill authored that will cover OT services to children with autism and Governor Schwarzenegger has called a special session for after the elections to solve the continued budget crisis. The Legislature is required to respond to this call and plans to convene either Friday, November 7 or Monday, November 10. The Governor estimates that the budget deficit is between $5 and $8 billion, while legislative leaders are estimating it could be as high as $10 billion.

—Jane Dressler, J.D., OTR/L