Proposed rule changes from Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) are threatening to severely restrict access to mental health care at a time when we need it most.

Under LARA’s proposal, licensed professional counselors (LPCs) would be stripped of their ability to diagnose clients or bill to their insurance companies. The changes would affect 10,000 counselors in Michigan and leave an estimated 150,000 people without services for depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorder and other mental health issues.

LPCs make up nearly half of our counseling staff at Oakland Family Services and Day One. Michigan already has a hiring deficit for counselors. LARA’s proposal would cut the mental health care workforce in half, leaving our clients scrambling to find new providers in a community that is already underserved. Without the ability to diagnose clients or bill insurance companies, LPCs would be left virtually unhireable for client-facing positions.

Please contact your House representatives and ask them to support House Bill 4325, which would stop LARA’s proposal and prevent the mental health crisis it would cause. Find your representative at https://bit.ly/2CfySZA. You can simply copy and paste the following into an email:

“Changes proposed by Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) will have a detrimental impact on the availability of mental health services and the livelihood of counselors in the state. I oppose LARA’s proposed rule changes and encourage you to support HB 4325.”

Read more about the LARA proposal at https://bit.ly/2kIYqqS.