John Richardson, NSGC Senior Director of Policy and Government Relations
The first quarter of the year is always very busy for licensure efforts and this year has been very fruitful.
Arkansas became the 27th state to enact licensure. Courtney Cook led the effort and deserves a big thank you. Also deserving of thanks are Katie Lang and Andrea Pal in Georgia, which is positioned to become the 28th state. Georgia genetic counselors only await the Governor’s signature for enactment, and he is expected to come through. NSGC also wishes to thank the other genetic counselors in these states as enacting laws are a team effort.
Other states that are making good progress are Alabama and South Carolina. There have been significant breakthroughs in challenging states like Colorado, Texas and New York. Many states such as Florida and North Carolina are ready to go early next year. There may be one or two additional states that could be a surprise too! All of this activity and success is a result of hard work by NSGC members, and all of you should celebrate these accomplishments – enacting these laws is not easy.
CMS Recognition Update
Congress comes back from their Easter and Passover recess next week. Legislation that would recognize genetic counselors under Medicare will be introduced into Congress soon. Once the bill is introduced there will be a lot of grassroots activity. Please respond to “action alerts” as they are extremely important and effective in gaining the attention of members of Congress to this important issue.
This article was published in the April 2019 Advocate Newsletter.
John Richardson, NSGC Senior Director of Policy and Government Relations