Political Climate

With the health care debate now behind us, Capitol Hill and the Obama Administration have moved on to other things.  Issues of great significance include a pending Supreme Court nomination, fluctuating news on employment, and several Congressional primary races that will give shape to the November general election.  At this point in the year, many Members of Congress are focused on both a wide range of policy issues as well as their reelection prospects.

While Democrats are expected to suffer losses this year, experts widely disagree on the number (House seat estimates have ranged from 25 all the way to 60).  That said, it’s important to remember one thing about any election in which the minority party is trying to overwhelm the majority party: only in the summer and fall are the challengers truly tested, in both fundraising and campaigning.  Those Republican candidates trying to defeat entrenched Democrats will have to maintain a significant fundraising pace and avoid gaffes on the campaign trail.  Any error in either category could cost the GOP potential seats.

These remarks are not meant to be partisan in nature because the Democrats were in a similar position in 2006 as well as 2008.  In each of those years some Democratic challengers were unable to defeat Republican incumbents due to either lackluster fundraising, a disappointing campaign, or both.  At the same time, the Democrats won a significant number of seats in the House and the Senate, eventually taking over the majority.  The GOP is likely to repeat that pattern this year, enjoying a sizeable number of wins, but not necessarily as many as their most optimistic supporters would like.

Remembering Dr. Dorothy I. Height

NASW and the social work community were devastated by the loss of Dr. Dorothy I. Height on April 20, 2010. One of the world’s most important social workers, Dr. Height was a civil rights legend who spent a lifetime advocating for the rights of women and people of color. Dr. Height worked on five continents for four major national organizations during her lifetime. Dr. Height was the only female team member in the United Civil Rights Leadership which included Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,  Whitney Young, A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer, Roy Wilkins and John Lewis. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1997, the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004, and was inducted into the Democracy Hall of Fame International. NASW was honored to award Dr. Height with the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The most comprehensive piece of federal legislation ever introduced to address social work workforce challenges was named after Dr. Height and fellow social worker Whitney Young. NASW Executive Director Dr. Elizabeth Clark penned a tribute to Dr. Height and discussed her support of the legislation bearing her name. Honor the legacy of Dr. Height today by contacting your Representative and Senators in support of this critical legislation.

NASW Joins Young Invincibles In Support of Early Dependent Coverage

NASW joined 65 state and national groups on a letter asking insurance companies to start dependent coverage early.  The letter was generated by Young Invincibles, a national youth advocacy group focused on health reform.  (more…)

Take Action Today!

Action Requested

Contact your Representative today about signing on as a cosponsor to H.R. 5040, the “HIT Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act.”

Background

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) has introduced bi-partisan legislation along with Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), a clinical psychologist, called the Health Information Technology Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act of 2010 (H.R. 5040). The bill, introduced on April 15, 2010, would extend the new Medicare and Medicaid “meaningful use” incentive payments established under the HITECH Act within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to clinical social workers and other mental health and substance abuse providers and facilities.

ARRA provides $20 billion in incentives and grants to health care providers and hospitals to establish interoperable electronic health record (EHR) systems throughout the nation. Medicare and Medicaid ARRA payment incentives are available to most physicians, chiropractors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and hospitals.  However, Congress excluded from eligibility behavioral health providers, as well as most non-physician practitioners, because of cost concerns when the law was enacted in 2009. Among those providers who would be eligible for the payments under Rep. Kennedy’s H.R. 5040 are clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, psychiatric hospitals, substance use treatment facilities and mental health treatment facilities.

As enacted, ARRA establishes a vast national EHR system that excludes the electronic patient records of clinical social workers’ and other behavioral health providers. If the current law’s deficiency is not corrected, the behavioral health records of many consumers will likely remain in paper form and therefore less accessible to other health care providers. Nevertheless, there is a high risk that excluded providers would be compelled to use electronic health records systems to participate within commercial provider networks and to obtain EHR information from covered physicians and facilities. NASW is a supporter of strong patient privacy protections established within ARRA, and also believes that quality of care will likely be seriously compromised if the records of clinical social workers and other behavioral health providers remain excluded from developing EHR systems.

Details on H.R. 5040

NASW believes it is essential to integrate care delivered by clinical social workers with other behavioral health and medical providers, and this legislation will be an important priority for enactment. The Health Information Technology Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act would:

• Clarify the definition “health care provider” throughout the HITECH/ARRA Act to include clinical social workers and psychologists, substance abuse professionals, psychiatric hospital, behavioral and mental health clinics, and substance use treatment facilities.
• Establish grants for those mental health treatment facilities not eligible for meaningful use incentives through the HITECH/ARRA Act. The grants allow for purchasing certified EHRs, training medical staff in the use of EHRs, and improving the exchange of health information between mental health providers and other health care providers.

Extend Medicare and Medicaid payment incentives for meaningful use of EHRs to clinical social workers and psychologists, psychiatric hospitals, mental health treatment facilities, and substance abuse treatment facilities.

Recognizing the impact of the economic recession on working families, President Obama and Vice President Biden held a meeting of the Middle Class Task Force on January 25, 2010 to discuss ways to reduce the financial burden for this group and increase investments for them. Over the past year, the Task Force has held several meetings on this topic and their recommendations include the following:

1. An increased Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for families making under $85,000 a year. The administration also plans to provide a $1.6 billion increase in child care funding to help an additional 235,000 children.

2. A decrease in students’ federal loan payments to 10% of their income, referring to the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) program, created by Congress in 2007. For more information about IBR or Public Service Loan Forgiveness, go to NASW’s loan forgiveness website at http://www.socialworkers.org/loanforgiveness/default.asp.

3. Creating a system of automatic workplace IRAs, requiring that employers give employees the option to enroll in a direct-deposit IRA.

4.Tax credits to match retirement savings and new safeguards to protect them.

5.Support for families balancing work with caring for elderly relatives, which is intended to help families manage multiple responsibilities and allow seniors to live in the community for as long as possible.

For more information about these initiatives or to review remarks by the President and Vice President at the Middle Class Task Force meeting, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/key-investments-middle-class-families.

On Thursday, January 21, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In essence, this decision holds that corporations and unions may spend money from their general funds on political and campaign activities. We are presently analyzing the impact of this decision on NASW and PACE, and will provide you with more information as soon as possible.

August 3, 2009

Edward M. Kennedy
Chair
Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Kennedy:

On behalf of the 150,000 members of the National Association of Social Workers, I am writing in support of the confirmation of Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Founded in 1955, NASW is the largest membership organization of social workers and seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families and communities through its work and advocacy.

Professional social workers have an important and growing presence at NIH.  This is not only through the provision of clinical services, but also due to a portfolio of research grants on psychosocial care, health disparities, family caregiving, and innovative, community-based health, mental health, and substance abuse intervention.

Dr. Collins’ lengthy career has focused on revolutionizing our collective understanding of disease genes and the human genome map. Thanks to this work, social workers and a wide range of other medical care providers are able to better understand the personalized nature of illnesses.    Dr. Collins’ work shines a light on the entire spectrum of human conditions, and the need to more fully address the interactions of genes, behavior and the environment.

Dr. Collins’ work has a direct and invaluable impact for our society.  In addition to his long list of contributions to basic genetic research and scientific leadership, Dr. Collins is known for his close attention to ethical and legal issues in research. He has been a strong advocate for protecting the privacy of genetic information and has served as a national leader in efforts to prohibit gene-based insurance discrimination.

We know that understanding genetics is one key to the research work of NIH, because of the way such research changes how disease will be addressed.  For example, in the case of schizophrenia,  this understanding can lead to new possibilities for cure or disease management, but may also  create dilemmas stemming from earlier awareness that a person will develop a disease.  All of these factors have psychosocial dimensions that will benefit from the knowledge, skills and practice of social work.

Dr. Collins leadership and management skills, broad-based scientific knowledge, his understanding of the linkages between research and clinical services, including social work services, his long-standing engagement with the research and advocacy community make him an excellent choice to lead NIH at this time of attention to translational research and personalized medicine.

NASW looks forward to working with Dr. Collins to continue to address the critical issues of health disparities and the elimination of diseases through behavioral change and addressing social and environmental conditions.  Because Dr. Collins understands the field of social work’s contribution to health and well-being, and his commitment to enhancing the health of Americans everywhere, it gives me great pleasure to support Dr. Collin’s nomination and I ask for his confirmation. Thank you for your consideration.

Yours truly,

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

Click here to tell your story of service.

“United We Serve” is a nationwide service initiative that will help meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn. With the knowledge that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools, President Obama is asking us to come together to help lay a new foundation for growth. NASW is a partner in this effort

Whether you were already serving your country, or are responding to the President’s call, you have a chance to tell your story of how you are delivering on change in your community.

Whether you are helping those struggling in the current economy, tutoring kids in your neighborhood every day, or anything else, we want to highlight what social workers are doing to strengthen our country.

On July 10, NASW staff, at the request of the White House, participated in a teleconference to discuss the findings from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics’ report entitled, “ America’s Children: Key National Indicators on Child Well Being,” http://childstats.gov/americaschildren/, that includes 40 indicators of child wellbeing.

The discussion touched on some of the reports’ findings that include persistent increases in child poverty and teen pregnancy, food insecurity, and health disparities and the Administration’s plans to address these issues. Administration officials on the call were Tina Chen, Director, White House Office of Public Engagement, Abby Witt, Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Office of Public Engagement, and Ken Baer, Associate Director for Communications and Strategic Planning, Office of Management and Budget.

Take Action Today!

President Obama has selected his nominee for Supreme Court Justice to replace retiring Justice David Souter, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. We asked you earlier this month to contact President Obama and encourage him to nominate a candidate who reflects the diversity of this country. You responded and he listened. If confirmed, Judge Sotomayor will be the first Latina justice and the third female justice to serve on the court.

Action Requested
Please contact your Senators and ask them to confirm the appointment of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.  Click here to send your letter.

Background
Judge Sotomayor has an impressive resume’. She graduated from Princeton University and Yale Law School where she was an editor at the Yale Law Journal. She worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York before entering private practice in 1984. She went on to be a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court and a highly regarded and accomplished appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

NASW believes that Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s compelling life story and her extensive, as well as distinguished, record of judicial service will serve the country well. The federal courts often are called the guardians of the Constitution because their rulings protect the rights and liberties guaranteed by this important document. For many Americans, the federal judiciary is the first line of defense against violations of dearly held constitutional principles; for others, it is the last bastion of hope in a system that has marginalized, mistreated or simply ignored them. The composition of the federal judiciary is a civil rights issue of great relevance to all Americans, because the individuals charged with dispensing justice in our society have a direct impact on civil rights for all. To this end, the federal judiciary must be perceived by the public as an instrument of justice, and the individuals who are selected for this branch of government must be the embodiment of equity as well as impartiality.

In her 17 years on the bench, Judge Sotomayor’s legal opinions reflect the passion and commitment to enrich the lives of ordinary Americans while, also, reaching conclusions that improve America as a country founded on Democratic ideals and principles. Judge Sotomayor and her extensive legal work, in the view of social work, appeals to our nation and can provide insight on those issues which divide America and undermine the lives of vulnerable populations. In our system of checks and balances, the Senate has the constitutional role to advise and consent on federal judicial nominations. NASW affirms that Judge Sonia Sotomayor meets the criteria that is appropriately applied to nominees to these positions and should be confirmed.

Take Action Today!

Background

Social work members of Congress, Reps. Barbara Lee, Susan Davis, Ed Towns and Luis Gutierrez are original co-sponsors of the Department of Peace Act H.R. 808. The act would establish a Department of Peace headed by a Secretary of Peace. The mission of the department is to (1) cultivate peace as a national policy objective; and (2) develop policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful conflict resolution, and structured conflict mediation.

While previous iterations of the act ran into trouble citing duplication with the State Department responsibilities, the current version was revised to have an emphasis on domestic rather than international conflict.

Action Requested

Contact your member of Congress and ask them to become a cosponsor of H.R. 808 and work towards its passage. If your member of Congress is already a cosponsor we have a letter thanking them for their cosponsorship.

Take Action – Ask Your Senators to Vote for S. 3335 on the Floor

The U.S. Senate may consider legislation to improve insurance coverage for mental health and addiction treatment as early as tomorrow, Tuesday, July 29. Please phone your Senators with the quick message below urging them to support this critical mental health and addictions treatment legislation.

Background:
The Senate leadership has added the mental health parity bill for private insurance negotiated between the House and the Senate to another bill, S. 3335, an unrelated tax extenders package. Please contact your Senators and ask them to vote yes on S. 3335 when it comes to the floor of the Senate.

Action Requested:
NASW members should telephone both of their Senators to urge they pass S. 3335, including the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 (S. 558). Click on take action above. You will be directed to a page where you can� enter your zip code into a box� to be directed to the phone numbers for your Senators. We are targeting all members of the Senate with the following message:
“I am a constituent, professional social worker and member of the National Association of Social Workers. The Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 (S. 558) will provide critical health care protection for 113 million Americans. Please vote for S. 3335, the tax extenders package, which includes this vital mental health legislation.� The Senate must pass lifesaving mental health and addiction parity legislation included in the bill before the August recess.”

Thank you for supporting this critical piece of NASW’s legislative agenda.