Thank You Note to Congressional Offices

Please thank the Congressional staff that you met with during the summit! You may find a draft thank you note below for guidance. Customize the thank you email by adding any relevant information and/or details from your Capitol Hill meetings, and then to the Congressional staffer you met with. This will show appreciation and reinforce your advocacy. If you were on a team, the team leader may send one thank you note on behalf of the group. If you are the sender, please cc the other members of the team on the email.

Sample Subject Line: Thank You and Follow Up from 3/27 Meeting 

Dear [Name of Staffer/Representative/Senator]: 

Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me [and additional participants] on March 27th regarding critical legislation that will improve health equity and expand access to psychological services. We are heartened by the interest Congress is showing in mental health issues right now, and hope your office will lend support to the proposals we discussed during our meeting, listed below.  

Support the Increasing Mental Health Options Act of 2023 [S.669]. APA Services is working to identify co-leads for companion legislation in the House, which we hope to be introduced soon. This request would increase Medicare beneficiaries’ access to mental health care by removing outdated Medicare requirements for physician oversight and referral for services provided by psychologists. These provisions are causing unnecessary and detrimental delays for Medicare patients, especially in emergency situations. 

Support Medicare reimbursement for supervised services provided by advanced psychology trainees. Senate legislation led by Senators Barrasso (R-WY) and Bennet (D-CO) is expected to be introduced soon, and APA Services is working to identify co-leads for companion legislation in the House. This legislation would expand the workforce trained to deliver evidence-based services to older adults. Allowing Medicare to reimburse supervised services provided by advanced psychology trainees would allow psychology programs to expand training and increase the likelihood the trainees will participate in Medicare once fully licensed. As we mentioned during our meeting, CMS has already approved reimbursement for these services in Medicaid in 28 states.

Increase FY24 appropriations for the Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program and Minority Fellowship Program (MFP). Increasing funding for GPE and MFP would train more psychologists to work with diverse populations and train in underserved communities. Mental health services are needed now more than ever, especially given the shortage of psychologists in [STATE].  

[Please add in any additional information regarding local needs that you may have mentioned in your meeting.] 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any additional questions or require more information. We look forward to continuing to work with you to improve equitable access to mental and behavioral health services for those who need them most, while addressing the nationwide shortage of mental and behavioral providers.  

Again, thank you for the opportunity to meet with your office.  

Sincerely, 

[Name/Title] 

[University/Institution] 

[Address] 

(Phone: XXXX)