Congress Extends the Ryan White Act

Last week, Congress passed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. The bill will extend for four years the Ryan White Program, which provides lifesaving and life-extending health care, medications and support services to over 530,000 low-income people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. On October 21, the bill passed the House floor on a vote of 408 to 9. On October 19, the Senate passed the same bill by unanimous consent. The bill is awaiting President Obama’s signature. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program was originally authored in 1990 and reauthorized three times since, always with strong bipartisan support.

Update Health Care Reform

On October 13, the Senate Finance Committee voted on its version of the bill to overhaul health care in the United States.  The Senate Finance committee was the last congressional committee of jurisdiction to tackle the issue of health care reform.  The Senate leadership is in the process of merging the Finance Committee legislation with a bill approved by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). The HELP bill contained several provisions supported by NASW and not included in the Finance Committee proposal, including a public option plan.

According to Senate rules, they will permit a huge number of floor amendments, threatening perhaps several weeks of debate, if opponents have the votes to tie up consideration. It is likely that at least some of these amendments will raise high-priority concerns for NASW.   For example, one such amendment would focus on including the public plan option in the final bill.  Please go here to see an earlier NASW action alert supporting the public option plan.

The House leadership has been meeting over the past month in an effort to merge the bills passed out of three committees of jurisdiction (Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means and Education and Labor).

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The National Association of Social Workers has steadfastly been involved with hate crimes legislation for over a decade. On October 22, 2009 NASW’S tireless efforts came to fruition with the passage, by the Senate, of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act by a 68-29 vote. The hate crimes initiative was included in the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense Authorization Report passed previously by the House of Representatives. The historic enactment of hate crimes legislation represents a vital victory for social justice advocates and all Americans who affirm that inequality and intolerance corrupt Democratic principles and ideals.

Consistently, many Americans are victims of violent crimes due to their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act will realign significant federal resources to aide local law enforcement efforts in the fight against hate crimes, racism and intolerance against those who exercise their right to alternative lifestyles. Further, the bill acknowledges that gender identity must be protected under federal law. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is our nation’s sincerest attempt statutorily at protecting the civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. NASW strongly believes that the enactment of this legislation affirms America’s commitment and moral imperative that all of its citizens are one. Today, Social Workers should be proud that lawmakers have reaffirmed the intrinsic values of our profession and its unwavering pursuit of equality for all.

Clinical social workers that participate in Medicare Part B will have their payment rates protected against a large cut provided the Senate acts favorably on the “Medicare Physician Fairness Act of 2009” (S. 1776). This legislation would permanently repeal the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula that determines future payment rates in Medicare and TRICARE. The SGR formula is frequently inappropriately described as the Medicare “physician fee” formula, but it actually sets the overall rate of increase or decrease for all Medicare Part B independent practitioners, including clinical social workers. NASW supports this bill, which would halt scheduled cuts in Medicare payments to clinical social workers and other health professions and has urged Congress to adopt a plan to recalibrate how those payments are set each year. See NASW’s letter to Congress here.

For ongoing information, please visit our health care reform page.

Video: Can We Live up to the Social Work Legacy?

Please take a moment to view a video NASW just recorded for you regarding the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act (H.R. 795/ S.686. This legislation is a first step to address serious workforce challenges such as low salaries, high educational debt, and safety concerns and will determine the best course of action to strengthen our profession. The bill is important to all social workers, and in this brief video we explain why leaders like Frances Perkins, Dorothy Height, and Whitney Young provide lessons for us to learn from and a legacy we must continue. NASW hopes we can count on our fellow social workers to stand up for our profession as we have always stood up for our clients.

NASW Attends Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference

On September 13-15 NASW attended the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Conference. On September 23-26, NASW attended the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference (ALC). The Public Policy Conference and the ALC featured issue forums that focused on issues ranging from poverty and economic issues to housing, health and veterans.

HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces Senate Confirmation of Carmen Nazario as Assistant Secretary for Children and Families

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the United States Senate unanimously confirmed social worker Carmen Nazario as Assistant Secretary for Children and Families. In that role, she will oversee the Administration for Children and Families within HHS.

“Carmen Nazario has a distinguished record of more than 40 years working in human services at every level of government, as well as in the private and non-profit sectors,” said Secretary Sebelius.  “She has devoted her career to developing and implementing programs that promote the well-being of children and families, and she will build on that important work as Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.” (more…)

In an effort to keep you informed of the work NASW is doing on health care reform, we will periodically send out a roundup of activities. For ongoing information, please visit our health care reform page.

Congress Advances Health Care Reform

Congress made major progress last week on health reform legislation. House leaders continued to negotiate merging three somewhat different committee versions of their bill into H.R. 3200. The final House language for H.R. 3200 could be released this week and Democratic leaders plan to begin floor votes within three days of release.  The design of a public insurance option remains a sticking point in the bill, along with payment rates for providers that participate in the public plan. NASW has supported this House effort, including the public option.

In the Senate, the Finance Committee has largely completed their version of reform legislation and received a favorable cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, which has boosted its political prospects. NASW has important reservations with the Senate Finance Committee bill, including the number of people excluded from coverage after full implementation, the omission of direct billing privileges for clinical social workers serving nursing home residents covered by Medicare, the failure to boost payment rates for psychotherapy services under Medicare, and the omission of a strong public option. NASW will await receipt of final Senate language before taking a position on floor consideration, which could begin next week. Senate floor consideration will continue for perhaps several weeks, and a number of amendments and key votes are expected during the debate. For more details on NASW activities, visit our webpage here.

African-American and Latino Organizations Join Forces to Push for Health Care Reform

On October 5, the country’s largest African-American and Latino organizations announced they are joining forces with other major national civil rights and grassroots organizations to mobilize the nation’s 100 million people of color for a final push in support of universal health care reform.  NASW attended this press conference, works with these groups, and is a member of the Leadership Council on Civil Rights. The organizations included the NAACP National Voter Fund, the National Council of La Raza, the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, the Campaign for Community Change, and the United States Student Association and PowerPAC.org.

The groups released television and print ads in English and Spanish that will run in four states with sizable African-American and Latino populations, part of a grassroots effort to ensure that members of Congress appreciate the importance of reform to the people of color they represent.  Those four states are Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas.

The ads can be viewed at www.healthequityforall.org.

Administration Announces Parity Regulation Delay

The new federal mental health and addiction services parity law, P.L. 110-343, passed in October 2008, requires that regulations be issued by Oct. 3, 2009; however, HHS Secretary Sebelius announced on October 2 the new rules will arrive late. Said Sebelius in her letter to Capitol Hill offices, “We (Dept. of Labor/DHHS) are committed to ensuring access to these critical services, and it is our goal to issue regulations by January 2010 that will address the key issues…”  According to Sebelius, the Department received over 400 public comments in response to a regulatory notice published this spring. NASW submitted comments at that time.

The effective date of the new law is for health plans with renewal dates beginning on or after January 1, 2010. Employer groups of fewer than 50 employees are exempt from the new requirements, but all other private insurance plans, including those covered by ERISA, are subject to the new federal requirements. According to the law, health insurance plans that offer any level of mental health or substance abuse treatment benefits must offer them at parity level with other health care benefits available under the plan. With the delay in the new regulations, health plan administrators will lack guidance on technical issues in the law, although they will still be required to follow the law or risk administrative and legal action by employees or state regulators for non-compliance. For more information about the law, see NASW’s Legal Issue of the Month for January 2009

On October 5, the country’s largest African-American and Latino organizations announced they are joining forces with other major national civil rights and grassroots organizations to mobilize the nation’s 100 million people of color for a final push in support of universal health care reform.  The organizations included the NAACP National Voter Fund, the National Council of La Raza, the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, the Campaign for Community Change, and the United States Student Association and PowerPAC.org.  NASW attended the press conference

The groups released television and print ads in English and Spanish that will run in four states with sizable African-American and Latino populations, part of a grassroots effort to ensure that members of Congress appreciate the importance of reform to the people of color they represent.  Those four states are Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas.

The ads can be viewed at www.healthequityforall.org.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing entitled, “Prohibiting Price Fixing and Other Anticompetitive Conduct in the Health Insurance Industry” scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, 2009. The hearing concerns identical new bills (S. 1681 and H.R. 3596) that NASW is watching. The legislation would eliminate a long-standing federal law that excludes the insurance industry from federal anti-trust regulation. Under the Constitution, regulation of interstate commerce is a federal responsibility. However, in 1945 the McCarran-Ferguson Act authorized states (in the absence of federal law or regulation) to regulate all insurance products, including health, leading to the state regulatory system in place today. This Act also exempted the insurance industry from federal anti-trust law. Therefore, the Justice Department cannot now enforce federal antitrust law on the insurance industry.

NASW is following federal legislation that would preempt state regulation of health insurance. Among the profession’s concerns in this debate are state-level provider mandates and mental health parity laws. Because of the severe dysfunction in the current state-based health insurance market, over the long term Congress appears likely to “harmonize” state health insurance rules by shifting regulation of the market back to federal control. The subject of this new legislation is more limited in scope, focusing only on the industry’s antitrust exemption. Currently the health insurance industry response to the legislation has been muted, arguing that they currently do not share health care pricing information and its elimination would not have a significant impact on their practices.

Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH
Executive Director

NASW is pleased to be a co-sponsor of “The Women, Money and Power Summit” being held in Washington, DC this week. Organized by The Feminist Majority and the YWCA, the meeting is bringing together women’s groups, social justice advocacy groups, elected officials, and Hollywood celebrities to develop strategies around various issues that have a disproportionate impact on women.

I was pleased to be a panelist at the opening session along with Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota, Dr. Lorraine Cole, Executive Director of the YWCA, Terry O’Neill, newly elected President of the National Organization of Women, Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Susan Scanlon, President, Women’s Research and Education Institute (WREI).

My focus was the economic status of women and the difficulties families — especially families headed by women — are facing. Women still make 77 cents for every dollar a man in the same profession makes, yet women pay the same amount as men for gas and groceries and other basic necessities.

Several NASW staff will be participating in the summit this week, so we will continue to add to this blog as the week goes on.