NYSPA Newsletters

Spring 2026 Newsletter

NYSPA JOINS GHOST NETWORK LITIGATION 

 NYSPA and the APA have filed a complaint in federal district court in New York against EmblemHealth, an insurance carrier. The class action lawsuit, brought on behalf of APA and NYSPA members and a proposed class of affected patients and families, challenges EmblemHealth’s use of “ghost networks” of behavioral health providers. Ghost networks are inaccurate provider listings that falsely present clinicians as available when they are not,

2026 Medicare Fee Schedules 

2026 Coding, Billing and Documentation Update

Presented by: Rachel A. Fernbach, Esq. 

December 9, 2025

Notice of Good Faith Estimate of Non-Deductibility of NYSPA 2024 and 2025 Dues

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 included certain provisions denying tax deductibility for the portion of dues paid to 501(c)(6) professional organizations that is spent on influencing state or federal legislation. The law requires NYSPA to provide its members with a good-faith estimate of the portion of their dues which is attributable to lobbying and therefore, is non-deductible for federal income tax purposes.

NYSPA POSITION STATEMENT
MEDICAL AID IN DYING (4/2/25)

At the March 15, 2025, meeting of the New York State Psychiatric Association, (NYSPA) the NYSPA Council adopted a resolution in support of the New York Medical Aid in Dying Act (A136/S138).This is a change from NYSPA’s previous neutral position on the issue. The NYSPA Council reached this decision after receiving recommendations from its Committee on Legislation and the Psychiatry and Law Committee. The NYSPA Council recognizes that similar statutes have been enacted in ten other states over the last two decades. New York's pending legislation is modeled after those laws and includes safeguards to protect individual autonomy, including a mandatory diagnosis of a terminal illness or condition with less than six months to live, two separate requests from the patient (verbal and in writing), as well as a mental health evaluation if the attending or consulting physician determines the patient may lack decision-making capacity because of a mental health disorder or condition causing impaired judgement. 

NYSPA joins MSSNY and other statewide medical specialties in supporting this legislation.  At the same time, NYSPA also supports and respects a physician’s choice to decline to participate in any activities that fall within the proposed statutory definition of medical aid in dying.

Click here to view NYSPA's Position Statement.

2025 Coding, Billing and Documentation Update

Presented by: Rachel A. Fernbach, Esq. 

January 7, 2025

2025 Medicare Fee Schedules 

NYSPA is proud to announce the establishment of the
NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC FOUNDATION, INC.,
a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. 

Goals and Mission

• to increase public awareness and disseminate information to the public regarding psychiatry, the prevention and treatment of mental illness and the needs of individuals with mental illness; 
• to promote and advance learning, training and research in the field of psychiatry and mental health;
• to enhance the quality of assistance to the psychiatric patient, particularly by improving access to care, improving conditions in hospitals and mental health facilities and changing perceptions of mental illness and the process of recovery;
• to eliminate discrimination against people with mental illness, which may inhibit or prevent proper care, through public awareness and public service efforts

To Donate Today, please click here! 

If any NYSPA members are interested in serving on the Foundation Advisory Committee or have ideas or suggestions for Foundation activities and initiatives, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. 

PRESS RELEASE: NYSPA, MSSNY & NASW-NYS Veterans Mental Health Training Initiative Continues to Enhance Capacity of Practitioners in Community to Care for Veterans & Families as NYS & U.S. Commemorate Veterans Day

Please click here to read the full Press Release

ProjectTEACH

Project TEACH is a New York State Office of Mental Health funded program that offers support to primary care, ob/gyn and psychiatric clinicians who are treating perinatal and/or pediatric patients with mental health concerns. Our team of reproductive psychiatrists and child and adolescent psychiatrists provide expert guidance through telephone consultations and CME education programs. Liaison coordinators provide linkage and referral support to outpatient programs in your community. All of our services are fast, free, friendly and easy to access no matter where you are in New York State.  For consultations call us at 1-855-227-7272 Monday-Fridays 9-5 or visit us at www.projectTEACHny.org. 

NYSPA Structural Racism Task Force Statement (1 October 2021)

In the context of the killing of George Floyd and the disproportionate burden of the COVID pandemic on Black Americans, NYSPA, like the APA and other national medical organizations, has undertaken to address structural racism – the long-standing combination of public policies, institutional practices and social forces, ideologies, and processes that generate and perpetuate inequities among races. NYSPA commits to understanding and acknowledging the history of racism in American society, including its role in sustaining inequality and discrimination. NYSPA undertakes to use a social justice lens to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion.

NYSPA we’ll take the following steps to achieve racial equity for all the residents of NY State:

• NYSPA affirms that structural racism is a public health crisis and a root cause of health inequities that shapes and influences healthcare, medical education and organized medicine, including psychiatry.
• NYSPA Supports and endorses the work of the APA Presidential Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry
• NYSPA will systematically evaluate its policies and procedures to ensure that it supports equity in all aspects of its work, and that a record of this process is visible to all members.
• NYSPA will advocate for mental health care reform, making equitable, quality mental health treatment & services a priority
• NYSPA will urge all district branches to affirm that racism is a public health crisis & that their mission statements, policies, and procedures support Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
• NYSPA will work collaboratively with all district branches to develop a strategic plan to improve recruitment, retention, promotion, support, and mentoring of historically marginalized members.
• NYSPA commits to adopting ongoing recommendations made by the Task Force to address structural racism.

NYSPA-Inspired Law Leads NYS Department of Financial Services To Recoup $3.1 Million from Insurers for Violations of Mental Health & Substance Use Disorder Parity Laws

Garden City, NY – The New York State Psychiatric Association (NYSPA) is pleased to report that the Department of Financial Services (DFS) recently recovered $3.1 million from insurance carriers doing business in New York for violations of federal and state mental health and substance use disorder parity laws. This recovery is a direct result of the Mental Health and Substance Use Parity Report Act, a state law enacted in 2018/2019, which was envisioned and championed by NYSPA.  

State vs. Federal Telemedicine Updates

In order to further assist our members, NYSPA has put together a chart outlining several legal and practice issues relating to telemedicine, both from a state and federal perspective.  To view the chart, please click here.

TELEMEDICINE UPDATE

On June 24, 2021, Governor Cuomo declared an end to the New York State COVID-19 disaster emergency.  The following is a summary of current New York laws and regulations that impact the delivery of telemedicine.    

SCAM WARNING -- INDIVIDUALS POSING AS EMPLOYEES OF NYS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

We are writing to warn our members about a recent scam being perpetrated by individuals posing as employees of the New York State Education Department (SED).  A NYSPA member was recently contacted by individuals we believe to be part of this ongoing scam.  The call appeared to come from the general phone number of the SED Office of the Professions.  The scammers knew the name and NPI of the psychiatrist and stated that the psychiatrist was currently being investigated by the FBI.  The callers claimed that the FBI had been trying to reach the psychiatrist for the past 10 days in connection with alleged criminal activity involving controlled substances and provided a docket number and a case number, both apparently fictitious.  The callers claimed that the psychiatrist’s medical license had been suspended and, most suspiciously, instructed the psychiatrist not to tell anyone about the call.  The scammers did not leave a call back number or provide anything in writing to the psychiatrist. 

2021 Medicare Update Webinar - Part 2

Presented by: Seth Stein, Esq. & Rachel Fernbach, Esq.
Webinar Date: December 14, 2020

2021 Medicare Update Webinar - Part 1

Presented by: Seth P. Stein, Esq. & Rachel Fernbach, Esq.
Webinar Date: October 20, 2020