On-Demand: Medicare: Opting Out & Opting In - 1 CEU

• CE Hours Included: 1 Core or Related (please see below for CE details)
• Format: On-Demand Webinar (“Asynchronous”) ~ At your leisure to be viewed at your own pace. You may pause, rewind, and fast forward at any point during the videos. You are in complete control of how you view this workshop. It also comes with a PowerPoint and references. There is a quiz at the end to ensure viewing and required by all CE approval organizations.
• Investment: $15 (provides lifetime access!)
  • To pay with PayPal, ACH transfer, or CashApp, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 404-913-2005. Otherwise, click below on "Enroll Now!"
• Presented by: Becky Beaton-York, Ph.D. (see bio below)
• Instruction Level: Intermediate
• Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Psychotherapists, Other Mental Health Professionals

Educational Objectives:

In this workshop, you will learn how to:

• Discuss the fact that all licensed therapists (Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, and MFTs) MUST opt in or opt out of Medicare.
• Review how to find your Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), whom you must contact whether you want to opt in or out.
• Describe several implications for group practice owners and those who work for them (e.g., Medicare follows you wherever you go).
• Step-by-step guide for opting out as well as creating a “private contract” (required by law) with anyone you see as fee-for-service who has Medicare (sample contracts provided).
• Discuss how fee schedules work and some pitfalls to avoid if you decide to apply.
• Review where to apply for Medicare on paper or electronically and provide important FAQs and links to step-by-step instructions.

Workshop Description:

Did you know that every licensed Counselor, MFT, Social Worker, and Psychologist needs to take action regarding Medicare? Psychologists and Social Workers may already know this because they have been able to take Medicare for quite some time. However, a new law was passed and went into effect on 1/1/24 that now allows MFTs and Mental Health Counselors to take Medicare. Before you think to yourself, “I'm not interested, so this doesn't apply to me,” please take a moment and keep reading. Medicare is different than any other 3rd party payer. You MUST formally decide whether you'd like to take it or not. If you decide you don't want to accept Medicare, you are legally required to let them know by opting out. Otherwise, if you see a client with Medicare unknowingly and without taking the proper steps, this is considered a form of fraud, and Medicare can "claw back" from you any additional fees you charged above and beyond the fee schedule for your area. (*Note: If you are a Psychologist or a SW who already takes Medicare, you've already taken action & you don't need to do anything extra).

This course will help you navigate the maze of CMS websites and give you step-by-step instructions regarding what you need to do, whether opting in or out.

Presented by: Becky Beaton-York, Ph.D.

Dr. Beaton-York has provided behavioral health services since 1991, and she has a true passion for ethics. She's been on the Georgia Psychological Association's Ethics Committee since 2010 and their Ethics Chair for eight of those years. She was also the Ethics Chair for the Licensed Professional Counselor’s Association of Georgia (LPCA-GA) from 1999-2001. Early in her career, Dr. Beaton-York taught at Georgia State University and has been adjunct faculty for Emory's Department of Psychology since 2016, primarily providing ethics training for their faculty. She has also served as an ethics expert on several malpractice cases.

Dr. Beaton-York founded a large anxiety and OCD practice in Atlanta that she ran from 2004-2019 until she sold it. Many of her ethics examples come from these 15 years of managing up to 40 clinicians and answering ethical dilemmas nearly daily. She has also coached numerous group practice owners since 2010. Literally, she has taught tens of thousands of therapists how to manage ethical issues in one form or another for the past 25 years. In other words, navigating ethical dilemmas is Becky's jam. :-) Since she loves ethics, teaching, and mentoring, this inspired her to start The Knowledge Tree. Furthermore, Dr. Beaton-York was voted Counselor Educator of the Year by LPCA-GA in 2005 and received their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

Lastly, you may have seen "Dr. Becky" on one of the 60 episodes that she filmed as the featured psychologist on TLC's "Hoarding: Buried Alive." She has also made appearances on The Anderson Cooper Show, Good Morning America, CNN Headline News, and other media.

1 Core or Related "Asynchronous" CE Clock Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:

• PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
• COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
• SOCIAL WORKERS: This workshop is approved for 1 related CE hour for social workers. If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
• MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: This workshop is approved for 1 related CE hour for marriage and family therapists. Please click here for more detailed information.

To view our various workshop policies, including our multi-workshop discount & refund policy, please click here.

We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.

Neither the Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.