March proved yet another tumultuous month for congressional consideration of legislation establishing Medicare payment rates. Physicians, clinical social workers and other health professionals that bill Medicare Part B independently face a scheduled rate cut of 21 percent on April 1. Fortunately, this week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) delayed the scheduled formula payment cuts until after Congress reconvenes on April 12. CMS is working with Congress, health care practitioners, and the beneficiary community to avoid disruption in the payment of claims submitted under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), which is based on a flawed formula known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR).  For a recent history on the SGR formula problems for clinical social workers, see NASW’s website here.

A temporary extension of current practitioner payment levels was enacted on March 2, 2010. This short term remedy held payments at 2009 levels until March 31, 2010, but Congress recessed for two weeks without extending the provision past the March deadline.  CMS announced this week that Congress is working to avoid the payment cuts that will take effect April 1, 2010 and instructed its contractors to hold claims for services paid under the MPFS for the first 10 business days of April. Holding the MPFS claims will only affect those with dates of service April 1, 2010 and later.

CMS expects the hold on claims will have a minimum impact on practitioners’ cash flow bmedicare, physician fee, payments,ecause clean electronic claims are paid no sooner than 14 calendar days (29 for paper claims) after the date of receipt. The Senate has scheduled a vote on the extension legislation for April 12 when they are scheduled to return from recess. Congress has resisted a permanent correction of the SGR formula because any remedy will create budgetary problems. Congress is particularly reluctant to address the formula this year because the economic downturn has depressed Medicare revenues below actuaries’ projections. NASW has joined with physicians and other practitioners in calling for a permanent correction in the SGR payment formula. (more…)

On March 17, 2010, Education Secretary Arne Duncan testified before the House Education and Labor Committee on the Obama Administration’s newly released blueprint for revamping the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act. He focused on the themes of college and career readiness, accountability for all students, and incentives for states to improve their approach to educating our nation’s students. The Committee expressed a strong commitment to working with the Administration in rewriting the law. In his opening statement, Chairman George Miller said “the President’s blueprint lays important markers for us as we begin this rewrite.” To view the full statement click here http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/full-committee/

NASW, independently and in collaboration with the National Alliance of Pupil Serving Organizations (NAPSO), recently submitted comments for the Chairman to consider as Congress gears up to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act https://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/issues/education/default.asp

• For information on joining NASW’s Advocacy listserv, go to http://capwiz.com/socialworkers/mlm/verify/.
• For more information on the School Social Work Specialist credential, go to http://www.socialworkers.org/credentials/default.asp.
• For more information on the school social work specialty practice section, go to http://www.socialworkers.org/credentials/default.asp
• For more information on school social work practice, including practice standards, go to http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/default.asp.
• For information on books and research regarding school social work practice, go to www.naswpress.org

March 2010

Political Climate
Other than the year-long health care battle, which appears to be approaching an end game through the reconciliation process, Capitol Hill is focused on two primary issues.  One is the budgetary process.  President Obama has submitted his budgetary requests to Congress, but it is up to the House and Senate to actually create the budget itself.  NASW is lobbying extensively in areas where we want to see the President’s figures maintained or even increased in the final budget.  The other issue is reelection campaigns.  Although it is only March, each passing year seems to generate polling data earlier in the election cycle.  While many republican challengers are off to a strong start, it is important to remember that it’s always easier for a challenger to criticize the majority than it is to demonstrate what they would do differently if elected.  So while the GOP has recruited many capable candidates this cycle, they have not been asked to fully explain their own policy agenda at this point, nor have they borne the brunt of Democratic counter attacks.  Thus, it is important to let the 2010 election cycle mature for a few more months before forecasting too many races.

Health Care Reform Update
Democratic Congressional leaders are working to finalize their compromise health care reform legislation. On March 15, the House Budget Committee voted 21-16 to report favorably the healthcare reconciliation package.  The measure now moves to the Rules committee and possible final vote in the House by Saturday, March 20.   As negotiations continue, the Congressional Budget Office is determining the cost of the bill.   The measure will then be reviewed by all members of Congress to ensure there are enough votes for passage. The reconciliation process is complex and can be delayed considerably by Senate floor amendments, but supporters believe this is their only way of securing passage of the critical measure.  The reconciliation process is a normal legislative process and has been used repeatedly to pass major health care laws. NASW is following closely the process and anticipates calling on all social workers to support the bill, once legislative details are fleshed out. For more about NASW’s activities in this area, please see our special webpage here.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
On March 9, the Senate voted down an amendment put forward by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) that included a six month-extension of the TANF Emergency fund established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It is expected that this amendment will be brought up again. States are relying on the TANF Emergency Fund to provide basic cash assistance, short-term benefits, and subsidized employment programs to increasing numbers of poor families with children.  Currently, thirty states and the District of Columbia have used this fund to create more than 100,000 jobs for low-income parents.

State Budget Cuts Impact Child Welfare Programs
At a time when demand for child welfare services is growing and more investments are needed to increase the number of child welfare workers and improve their working conditions, salaries and benefits, the faltering economy is driving record state budget deficits and reductions in child welfare services.  NPR aired a 2-part story on this issue.  In part 1, Michael Petit, a social worker, NASW member, and President and Founder of Every Child Matters, was quoted regarding the state budget cuts.   Part 2 addressed the long term consequences of these cuts.

Recently, many of you wrote to Congress in support of the “We Can Do Better” campaign, part of a multi-organizational strategy to garner federal government support for child welfare.  In addition, NASW has launched a “Child Welfare Initiative,” to strengthen the system. A key component of this initiative is to advocate for public policies that improve social workers’ ability to protect our nation’s vulnerable children and families.

NASW’s legislative agenda for the remainder of the Session of Congress includes increasing sponsorship of the Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act (S. 2837), the Teri Zenner Social Worker Safety Act (H.R. 1490), and the reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

Please urge your members of Congress to take action on these bills to make child well-being a national priority.

Professional Social Work Month Resolution Introduced
On March 11, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter introduced a resolution, H. Res. 1167 to honor and recognize “with gratitude the contributions of the millions of caring individuals who have chosen to serve their communities through social work” during Professional Social Work Month.   To view the full resolution, go here.

NASW Cosponsors Public Health Briefing
On March 2, over 80 congressional staff and interested organizations participated in the 6th annual Public Health Briefing 101 entitled, “Building Capacity to Meet America’s Mounting Health Needs” hosted by the Coalition for Health Funding.   The briefing provided information about the public health continuum and its needs.  NASW was a cosponsor of the briefing.  To view the presentation of the briefing speakers, go here.

HHS Secretary Testifies Before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
On March 10, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius testified about the FY 2011 HHS budget request before the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee.   In her testimony, Secretary Sebelius noted that the HHS budget “promotes projects that will rebuild our economy by investing in next generation research and the advanced development of technology that will help us find cures for diseases, innovative new treatments, and new ways to keep Americans safe, whether we are facing a pandemic or a potential terrorist attack.”  In addition, Secretary Sebelius testified on HHS’ proposed investment in the NIH, public health preparedness, health IT, increasing the public health workforce and on-going prevention efforts.   To view Secretary Sebelius’ testimony, go here.

DeGette, Castle Introduce Stem Cell Bill
On March 10, Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Mike Castle (R-DE) introduced H.R. 4808, the Stem Cell Research Advancement Act “to ensure a lasting ethical framework” for human stem cell research at NIH. According to a statement issued by Reps. DeGette and Castle, the Stem Cell Research Advancement Act) builds on President Obama’s March 2009 Executive Order overturning former President Bush’s restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

NASW recognizes the significant ethical issues raised about embryonic stem cell research, as well as the variety of views and opinions on such research.  However, there is evidence that stem cell research shows great promise, both for persons suffering from a range of illnesses and for streamlining and expediting the development of new medications.   To view the full press release, go here.

Congress Advances Medicare Rate Provisions

For the past several weeks the Senate has considered temporary legislative provisions that would halt the so-called Medicare “physician fee cut” that sets Part B payment rates for clinical social workers and all independent Medicare outpatient providers. The legislation also restores a separate five-percent cut that hit Medicare psychotherapy rates on the first of this year. NASW expects this temporary measure will be completed soon, but a longer-term correction will be necessary later this year. For background on the complex issues involving clinical social fees, see NASW’s advocacy blog posts here.

Senate Hearing on Childhood Obesity
Consistent with First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to confront the issue of childhood obesity, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions heard testimony on March 4, 2010, about the prevalence of obesity among America’s youth. Panelists included Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General; Dr. Joseph Thompson, Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity; Dr. Sandra Hassink, Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Obesity Leadership Workgroup; and Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back Rashard Mendenhall.

NASW recognizes childhood obesity as an major public health concern, with significant implications for future U.S. health care costs. Obese children are being diagnosed with health problems previously considered to be “adult” illnesses, such as Type II diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and fatty liver disease. Overweight and obese children are at risk for a host of serious future illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer. Obesity and related complications disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority children and children living in poverty.

NASW applauds Congress’ acknowledgment of this multi-dimensional issue and its efforts to address it. To view the hearing’s video and for more information, go here.

Social Work Reinvestment
NASW Executive Director Dr. Elizabeth Clark and senior NASW staff recently met with Congressman John Lewis to discuss TANF reauthorization as well as his support of the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act. Congressman Lewis knew Whitney Young well and had spoken with Dr. Height recently and remarked that they would want him to be a supporter of the bill. If you are his constituent, thank Congressman Lewis today or write your own Representative thanking them for their support. Contact your Senators as well.

One of the key provisions of the Act is the social work reinvestment commission. Such a commission would address social work workforce shortages and develop recommendations and strategies to ensure that social workers can continue to provide services and resources to an ever-increasing client base. NASW is working with House and Senate appropriators to obtain report language that focuses on placing the social work reinvestment commission in the FY11 Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services bills in the House and Senate.   The other proposed report language is focused on developing opportunities for social workers to conduct research. According to the Congressional Research Service, report language is detailed guidance to federal departments and agencies outlined in appropriations bills that may require or encourage departments or agencies to take specified action or refrain from taking a certain action.

Recently Dr. Elizabeth Clark and senior members of NASW staff met with Ms. Justine Sarver, Deputy Chief of Staff of Health and Human Services (HHS); Pamela Hyde, Administrator, SAMHSA; Mary Wakefield, Administrator, HRSA; Bryan Samuels, Commissioner, Administration for Children, Youth and Families; Dr. H. Westley Clark, Director, Substance Abuse Treatment, SAMHSA; and Irene Hsu, Special Assistant, Office of the Chief of Staff.  Our meeting centered on the need for HHS to establish a time-limited, high level commission to specifically look at issues facing the social work workforce across all of the fields and roles that are critical to HHS.  Workforce issues are of importance throughout HHS, so we also discussed ways we could collaborate to address needs specific to each area.

Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month and NASW’S longstanding advocacy as well as success on women’s issues prompted an invitation from the Women in Politics Institute to attend a panel discussion and reception acknowledging the contributions of women in government, including those within the Obama Administration.  The event will occur on March 23, 2010 at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University located in Washington, D.C.  Invited guests include the following luminaries: The Honorable Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State; Tina Tchen, Director, White House Office of Public Engagement;  and Anita McBride, Former Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush.

The House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education held a hearing on March 18, 2010 titled “Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Students” to examine how schools can appropriately educate low-income, minority, English Language Learners, disabled, Native American, and homeless students within the context of reauthorizing  the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act.

This goal was expressed by Subcommittee Chairman Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI) in his opening statement: “While the No Child Left Behind Act shed light on the inequalities in our education system, it unfortunately did not do enough to close the achievement gap for diverse students…This must be a top priority for future steps in education reform.”

To this end, the Subcommittee considered recommendations from a panel of educators, advocates, and a researcher working to close the achievement gap for diverse students. They included Dr. Daniel Curry, Superintendent for the Lake Forest School District in Felton, Delaware, Dr. Jack Dale, Superintendent for Fairfax County Public Schools in Falls Church, Virginia, Arelis Diaz, Assistant Superintendent for Godwin Heights Public Schools in Wyoming, Michigan, Dr. David Gipp, President of United Tribes Technical College (UTTC), Jacqui Farmer Kearns, Principal Investigator for the National Alternate Assessment Center, and Michael Wotorson, Executive Director of Campaign for High School Equity.

To read the transcript go tohttp://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/ecese/

Go here for more information on NASW’s advocacy efforts. 
Join the Advocacy Listserv to receive regular updates
NASW Standards for Social Work in Schools 
NASW Specialty Practice Section for School Social Work 
NASW School Social Specialist Credential

Not long after Barack Obama was elected President, he worked closely with Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), on eliminating homelessness among people who are veterans.  The issue became so important that Sec. Shinseki publicly stated that he wanted to completely end veteran homelessness by 2015.

The VA is taking some immediate steps to aid homeless veterans.  Recently, a webpage was created  on the VA site.  If you know or work with a veteran who is homeless, please pass this information along to them.

On March 18, Congress coupled the Student Aid bill with health reform legislation to advance President Obama’s two major domestic policy issues, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act (H.R. 4872). NASW strongly supports this bill and has tirelessly advocated for the creation of public policies that make health care and higher education more affordable and accessible for all Americans. The higher education provisions are expected to generate significant savings by ending lender subsidies to boost Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, increase the number of students who enter and complete college.

The House passed the bill on March 21, and the Senate is expected to vote later this week. While there is generally strong support for the bill among Democrats, it has no Republican support and is considered controversial by some. A few Senators are concerned that banks and some lenders will jeopardize their long term viability by producing fewer loans and many higher education institutions, in anticipation of this legislation, have already increased their direct federal loan lending to students. In spite of these differences, the legislation is expected to pass. NASW believes that this legislation will make obtaining a higher education easier for thousands of social work students by reducing their existing financial debt or reducing their dependence on student loans. For more information about our advocacy efforts on loan forgiveness go to www.socialworkers.org/loanforgiveness

On March 17, the House of Representatives passed the Professional Social Work Month and World Social Work Day Resolution honoring social workers by a vote of 419-0.  Social worker and Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter managed the bill during the debate.  To view the debate and final passage, please go to:

Video of Reps. Shea-Porter and Guthrie managing the social work month resolution:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/292544-2 (Once on the site, go to: transcript on the left and scroll down to 5:47:17 (Shea-Porter) to begin the video.  End at 5:51:3).

Video of the actual vote:  http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/292567-1 (Once on the site, go to: transcript on the left and scroll down and begin at 1:23:49 and end at 1:31:55).

As the debate for health care reform continues in Congress, there are many resources available from many organizations.  On the NASW Health care reform page, you will find informative documents including a one-pager from Health Care for America Now entitled, Five Immediate Benefits to Health Care Reform.  Go to the resources section of the health care reform page to read more.

At a time when demand for child welfare services is growing and more investments are needed, the faltering economy is driving record state budget deficits and reductions in child welfare funding.

NPR aired a 2-part story on this issue.  In part 1, Michael Petit, a social worker, NASW member, and President and Founder of Every Child Matters, was quoted regarding the state budget cuts.   Part 2 addressed the long term consequences of these cuts.

Recently, many of you wrote to Congress in support of the “We Can Do Better” campaign, part of a multi-organizational strategy to garner federal government support for child welfare.  In addition, NASW has launched a “Child Welfare Initiative,” to strengthen the system. A key component of this initiative is to advocate for public policies that improve social workers’ ability to protect our nation’s vulnerable children and families.

NASW’s legislative agenda for the remainder of the Session of Congress includes increasing sponsorship of the Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act (S. 2837), the Teri Zenner Social Worker Safety Act (H.R. 1490), and the reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

Please urge your members of Congress to take action on these bills to make child well-being a national priority.

On March 11, 2010, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support heard testimony about the role of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in providing assistance to families with little or no income. In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) expressed concern that “only 22% of poor children receive assistance from TANF,” and called for an extension of the TANF emergency fund as an essential first step in providing a helping hand for those who need it most. The chairman also called for a broader discussion about how the TANF law might be changed to assist more needy families.

Witnesses included Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI); Carmen Nazario, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Children and Families; Kay Brown of the U.S. Government Accountability Office; Russell Sykes, on behalf of the National Association of State TANF Administrators; Georgetown University Law Center Professor Peter Edelman; and Robert Rector, on behalf of the Heritage Foundation.

To view video of Congressmen McDermott’s opening statement or to read the witness’ testimony, go to http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetails.aspx?NewsID=11036.

NASW is advocating for TANF to be reauthorized this year. Our recommendations include that Congress increase supports for working families, eliminate education barriers, address employment barriers, provide a child poverty reduction bonus, restore immigrant eligibility, and enhance the capacity of the welfare system infrastructure. You can view a report on TANF at https://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/EconomicSecurityBook-web.pdf

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