Social Work Blog Social work updates from NASW
The leadership of the House of Representatives on March 23 cancelled a vote on the proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA).
Our collective voice through National Association of Social Workers (NASW) members, NASW chapters, NASW National office, and many other national organizations was heard and it made a difference. This means that those who rely on the Medicaid safety net will be protected.
However, while we can be thankful that AHCA was pulled, we cannot assume that the Affordable Care Act will no longer be exposed to attempts to “gut” it through administrative and budgetary actions.
Therefore, we must remain vigilant, and prepared to strongly oppose any attempts to amend ACA by introducing ill-advised provisions such as eliminating Essential Health Benefits and block-granting Medicaid.
The affordable care act hinders a free society. Making it illegal for people to not have health care is tyranny of government.
NASW should lead the way to create a seamless health care system, changing how we DELIVER healthcare, versus its lone focus on the we PAY for healthcare. Who better than professional social workers to coordinate multi-disciplinary, multi-factorial systems to achieve this goal? Such a system would decrease costs of care across the board and open access to all patients.