Rick Barnett Honored by Division 55
Dr. Rick Barnett Honored by Division 55
VPA Board President Featured on Website
VPA Board President Barbara Colombo, Ph.D. was recently interviewed for a blog on the Fielding Graduate University website. You can read that interview here. Dr. Colombo, a native of Milan, Italy, has done an impressive amount of research and publishing in addition to her academic and clinical work. We are fortunate to have her guidance and help on the VPA Board of Directors.
New Medicaid Psychotherapy Provider Manual
The Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) has created a “Psychotherapy and Other Psychiatric Services Supplement” to the General Provider Manual and the Medicaid General Billing and and Forms Manual. Information for psychotherapy providers was consolidated into this new supplemental manual in order to increase accessibility and clarity for providers; none of the information in the supplement is new and there are no new requirements.
This supplement describes processes to be followed by enrolled Vermont Medicaid providers who are serving Vermont Medicaid members with psychotherapy and other psychiatric services. The new document can be located at: https://dvha.vermont.gov/providers/manuals.
Please contact the Provider Services Unit at Gainwell Technologies at 1-800-925-1706 with any additional questions.
Medicaid and the Change Healthcare cybersecurity incident
DVHA has come up a final solution to the issue of providers getting no—or delayed—reimbursement due to the Change Healthcare cybersecurity incident earlier this year. You can read about what DVHA is going to do here: https://humanservices.vermont.gov/sites/ahsnew/files/documents/24-029-F-GCR-Change-Healthcare-Response.pdf
In short, DVHA (Vermont Medicaid) made payments to impacted providers based on
historical average claims. For the period February 21, 2024, through
June 30, 2024, Medicaid providers were eligible to receive payment “in amounts representative of up to 7 days of claims payments for Medicaid services” that were not otherwise paid because of the Change Healthcare cybersecurity incident. You can find more information about the payment provisions at the link sent by DVHA: https://humanservices.vermont.gov/sites/ahsnew/files/documents/24-029-Att-4.19-Introduction-draft.pdf
Dr. Rick Barnett, VPA Legislative Committee Chair and long-term VPA member received the 2026 award for Distinguished Contribution to the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy at the State Level from the APA Division 55, Society for Prescribing Psychology for his efforts in advocating for passage of legislation to allow psychologists-doctorates with advanced training to prescribe psychotropic medications in Vermont.
Dr. Barnett led that 10-year advocacy effort with the full backing of the Vermont Psychological Association and we could not be more thrilled that his success and effort has been recognized nationally. Dr. Barnett recently explained the drive behind seeking prescriptive authority for psychologists:
“There is still a good deal of misunderstanding about what it means to be a ‘prescribing psychologist.’ . . . . The goal isn’t simply to prescribe medication. It is to bring the depth and perspective of psychology together with the science of medicine so that we can help patients make thoughtful, informed decisions about when medication may help, when it may not, and when it may no longer be needed.”
We look forward to seeing the legislation in Vermont implemented and creating a new generation of prescribing psychologists.
Dr. Barnett is also scheduled to be the keynote speaker on clinical psychopharmacology at the American Academy of Clinical Psychology’s 2026 Leadership Summit in October 2026.