MEDICAL FUNDS CITE REGULATION
Psychologists hit as payments dry up
Nonclinical psychologists are closing shop in their droves because of a standoff with medical aids that refuse to pay for their services
Nonclinical psychologists are closing shop in their droves because of a standoff with medical aids that refuse to pay for their services. The dispute stems from the scope of practice regulations that were introduced in 2011 but dismissed by the High Court in Cape Town in 2016. The Recognition of Life Long Learning in Psychology Action Group, formed to fight for educational, counselling and industrial psychologists, said nonclinical psychologists were being forced to close practices at an alarming rate because of the scope of the regulations. The group will decide next week if it will take legal action against the schemes and the regulator. Action group founder and chairman Dr Kobus Scholtemeyer said on Monday that most psychologists had been affected by medical aids’ refusal to pay for services rendered by nonclinical practitioners. When the Health Professions Council of SA announced an amended scope of practice for psychologists in 2011, this was met with disappointment. Although t...
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