• Inclusion of Marriage and Family Therapists in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system HR 2860 - Health Care Access and Rural Equity (H-CARE) Act of 2007, Title 2, Section 201 which calls for coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Part B of the Medicare Program. HR 3162 - Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007, Subtitle A, Section 607 which relates to coverage for marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services. S. 498 - Rural Medicare Equity Act of 2007 - legislation calls for improvement of the Medicare program for beneficiaries residing in rural areas S. 1605 - Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2007, Section 16 which would provide coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Part B of the Medicare Program.

Duration: November 1, 2007 to November 30, 2008

General Issues: Health Issues, Veterans

Spending: about $70,000 (But it's complicated. Here's why.)

It can be tricky to figure out how much an organization spent on a particular lobbying engagement. The law only requires lobbyists to report the amount they were paid for federal lobbying each quarter rounded to the nearest $10,000—and if it's less than $3,000 in a given quarter (or less than $13,000 for organizations with in-house lobbyists), they don't have to disclose it at all. Plus, some organizations include spending that doesn’t belong in the report—for instance, money spent lobbying state governments or other legal work.

Agencies lobbied since 2007: House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Y Y U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs