RS 40:2013.1: Mental health clinics; authority of physicians to render certain opinions

Any licensed physician serving on the staff of any mental health clinic covered under the provisions of the Community Mental Health Centers Act, Title II of P.L. 88-164, is hereby required, when requested by a social security claimant who is, or who has been, a patient of the physician at such mental health clinic and who has a treating relationship with the patient in the appropriate field, to provide descriptive statements and opinions for the patient with respect to the patient's medical condition, employability, and ability to function, upon which disability determinations may be based. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a medical center from requiring payment for the medical center's current evaluation and management level services, but no such service shall be denied dependent upon a patient's inability to pay. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit Social Security Administration funding from being utilized to pay for such services.