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 to http://help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=059b63ce-5056-9502-5d89-33fed050a9f3.

Last week Congress halted the so-called Medicare “physician fee cut” that set Part B payment rates for clinical social workers and all independent Medicare outpatient providers with passage of an extension of Medicare physician payments at last year’s level through March 31.  On Wednesday, March 10, the Senate passed a critical extension of these  provisions (H.R. 4213).  Eight Republicans voted with Democrats to defeat a GOP filibuster of this measure. Similar legislation passed the House in December and a conference to reconcile their differences  is now required to enact this legislation.

H.R. 4213 extends the SGR component of the physician fee only through September 30. More importantly for CSWs, the bill retroactively restores a separate five-percent cut that hit Medicare psychotherapy rates on the first of this year. The proposed restoration of Medicare psychotherapy rates would apply to services delivered from January 1, through December 31. Since many private insurance plans pay social workers based on Medicare psychotherapy rates, this will benefit many clinical social workers in private practice.

The new Senate bill also includes a host of provisions unrelated to Medicare, including tax cut extenders and unemployment measures. Federal fiscal relief to help states with their escalating Medicaid expenditures is also included. This provision, called Medicaid FMAP extension, provides $25 billion in emergency Medicaid funds sought by President Obama and supported by NASW.

NASW expects to begin work on new legislation making a long-term correction of Medicare psychotherapy rates as soon as H.R. 4213 is signed into law.

For background on the complex issues involving clinical social fees, see NASW’s advocacy blog posts here.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is scheduled to testify before the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday, March 10 at 2 p.m. in Room 124 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing can be viewed live via webcast from the Senate Appropriations page.  Additional information is available at: http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=16c07802-c2f8-4485-9315-640f25ea7a81

On Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), held a hearing on the status of the U.S. military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy. The two witnesses invited to the hearing were Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense.

Sen. Levin opened the hearing by calling the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy “discriminatory”, then cited the popularity of repealing the DADT rule according to polling data. He noted that other countries have repealed similar rules without major problems, and expressed concern at the number of significant military figures, including linguists with skills in Middle Eastern languages, who have been lost due to the DADT policy.

Click here to watch the hearing in its entirety.

Adm. Mullen’s testimony was surprisingly personal. Rather than simply speak from the Joint Chiefs of Staff perspective, he expressed concern about the notion that people who wish to serve in the military have to lie about who they are in order to do so. Adm. Mullen also acknowledged that some disruption in the military’s overall lifestyle would be inevitable, but that thoughtful and thorough studies would be conducted to limit any problems.

After that, all Members of the Committee were permitted to ask questions, most of which broke down on party lines. Democrats universally expressed support for the idea of repealing DADT, with just a few asking Sec. Gates and Adm. Mullen about proper implementation of the potential new policy. The Republicans either opposed repeal of DADT outright, or expressed such strong concerns about the change that they effectively support retaining DADT, even if they did not explicitly say so.

As always, we will closely monitor any further hearings, bills, and other relevant updates on the DADT issue.

In November, groups hoping for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy were disappointed when the Senate Armed Services indefinitely postponed a long awaited hearing on the matter.

However, the issue was moved to the forefront during the State of the Union speech, when President Obama uttered the words, “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.”  (The full text of the speech is available here.)

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” may be on the agenda for the Senate Budget Committee hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 10:00.  NASW will continue to keep you updated as this issue moves through Congress.

Democrats Regroup on Strategy for Health Care Reform

Democratic congressional leaders are currently developing a new strategy to pass health care reform after the stunning loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts. Although their new strategy will be finalized after some days have elapsed and is not yet final, several conclusions are apparent from their public comments. First, Democrats fear that failing to enact the health care bill now could increase voter anger later in this election year. Second, many legislative strategists prefer what is described as a two-bill strategy, one immediately following the next.

Under the two-bill strategy, the first step would require House passage of the Senate health bill (HR. 3590). Getting to majority House support for this bill (at least 218 votes) is extremely difficult because many Democrats have important differences with provisions in the Senate bill. Democratic House leaders say they do not now have the necessary votes to pass the Senate measure. The second bill would be necessary to secure the necessary votes in the House for the first bill. The second bill would be considered under procedures known as budget reconciliation.  This bill would include many compromises and changes to the Senate bill. The reconciliation measure would also include any provisions negotiated with the White House and Senate leaders. The two-bill option has important legislative advantages. Most importantly, any bill taken up under reconciliation procedures may move under fast-track floor procedures in the House and Senate, and passage requires 51 votes in the Senate, instead of a filibuster-proof 60 votes.

Another strategy would involve going back to the drawing board and breaking the bill into smaller components, passing those where there is more agreement. Given this highly fluid political environment, NASW will continue to press for its legislative priorities as Congress debates a new approach. Our current Action Alert is here, and we urge members to track our actions here.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Update

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) became effective for most private health plans on January 1, 2010, but federal agency regulations defining how it will be interpreted have not been cleared by the Administration. Thus health insurance carriers, which must have their 2010 plan benefits in compliance in the absence of any regulations, may be uncertain or confused about exactly what mental health and substance abuse benefits are required to be equivalent to medical and surgical benefits they offer.

According to a HHS/CMS website here, the now current federal law applies to two different types of coverage:

• 1) Large group self-funded group health plans (CMS has jurisdiction over self-funded public sector (non-federal governmental) plans, while the Department of Labor has jurisdiction over private sector self-funded group health plans.

• 2) Large group fully insured group health plans.

Some state’s insurance regulations may also contain additional coverage protections for fully insured group health plans or individual coverage. MHPAEA is designed to prevent large group health plans from imposing financial requirements and treatment limitations on mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits that are more restrictive than financial requirements and treatment limitations on medical/surgical benefits.  MHPAEA also prevents large group health plans from placing annual or lifetime dollar limits on mental health and substance abuse benefits that are lower than annual or lifetime dollar limits for medical/surgical benefits offered under the plan.

The law does not apply to small group health plans or health insurance coverage in the individual (non-employment based) market, but individual state law may require mental health parity in such cases. MHPAEA defines large group health plans as those with more than 50 workers and does not apply to group health plans sponsored by employers with fewer than 51 workers. Federal summary information about the law is available here and NASW has prepared its own summary, posted here and shown under January 2009.

Employment Non-Discrimination Act

NASW continues to work diligently on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R.3017/S.1584).  With 194 sponsors in the House of Representatives and 44 in the Senate, E.N.D.A. has begun to attract enormous attention.  The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is dedicated to the principle that every worker should be judged solely on his or her merits.  Further, hardworking Americans should not be kept from supporting their families and making a positive contribution to the economic life of our nation due characteristics that have no bearing whatsoever on their acumen to do a job.  The Association remains allied with traditional civil rights groups who affirm that inequality and discrimination subvert the principles of Democracy.

Political Climate
Despite the many twists and turns health care reform has taken in the past several months, we are not necessarily closer to a solution in mid-December than we were in mid-September.  The Senate still has not completed its own bill, and is trying to write legislation that can earn 60 votes.  Once they do so, a conference between House and Senate negotiators will have to occur in order to send a single bill to President Obama.  At this point, no one can guarantee when such a conference will take place.  The cause of this delay is simple: for all the attention rightfully placed on abortion-related aspects of the discussion, there is still no agreement on the fundamental way in which more Americans would receive health care coverage.  Many reasonable approaches have been mentioned in the Senate, including expansion of Medicare and a public option.  But one week before Christmas Day, there is still no single plan that has garnered the support of 60 Senators.  Until that happens, there can be no conference with the House and thus no bill for President Obama to sign into law.NASW has called on its members to contact their Senators to support the bill (H.R. 3590), and a link to our most recent action alert is here. NASW has written to Majority Leader Reid supporting the Senate reform bill, and a copy may be viewed on the NASW Web site.

Reinvestment for Educators
NASW President Jim Kelly, Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors President Freddie Avant, and Action Network for Social Work Education and Research Chair Jeane Anastas, recently filmed a video regarding “Reinvestment for Educators” to discuss why the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative is important for social work educators. The bill will support recruitment of new social work students, retain experienced social workers, and fund social work education and research. To view the full legislation, please click here. After viewing the video, please send a letter of support to your Representative and Senators.

Social Work Medicare Equity Act in Health Care Reform
Section 1307 of the House health care reform bill (H.R. 3200) authorizes clinical social workers eligible to participate under Medicare Part B to bill independently for services to Medicare Part A covered residents of Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). The provision removes Part B-eligible clinical social work services from the Medicare SNF per diem rate and alternatively authorizes them to bill for them separately. This is a long-sought change by NASW that will expand the availability of clinical social work services to SNF residents covered by Medicare Part A and provide parity recognition for the profession in a SNF setting. The Senate version of health care reform legislation (H.R. 3590) does not contain a similar provision, and this difference must be ironed out in conference committee on the legislation. NASW is working with House and Senate offices to support the provision when conference committee consideration begins.

SWRA Provisions Advance on Health Care Reform
There are several provisions within Health care reform legislation, H.R. 3590, which advance the Social Work Reinvestment Act (SWRA).  Related provisions are contained in the House-passed measure, H.R. 3200. The Senate bill includes the following key provisions addressing social work professional education and training needs:

• Sec. 3508 - Establishes a demonstration program to integrate quality improvement and patient safety training into clinical education of health professionals. Schools of social work are among the eligible grantees.

• Sec. 5101 - Creates a National health care workforce commission tasked with reviewing health care workforce and projected workforce needs. The needs of the social work profession are among those that would be considered by the Commission and schools of social work also have representation.

• Sec. 5102 - Creates state health care workforce development competitive grants to s. enabling State partnerships to complete comprehensive planning and to carry out activities leading to coherent and comprehensive health care workforce development strategies at the State and local levels. All health professions are eligible for state planning attention, including social work.

• Sec. 5203 - Establishes health and behavioral health workforce loan repayment programs for pediatric subspecialists and providers of mental and behavioral health services to children and adolescents who are or will be working in a Health Professional Shortage Area, Medically Underserved Area, or with a medically underserved population.

• Sec. 5305 - Authorizes funding for geriatric education and training; career awards; comprehensive geriatric education to advanced practice nurses, clinical social workers, pharmacists, and psychologists.

• Sec. 5306 - Awards to mental and behavioral health education and training grants to schools for the development, expansion, or enhancement of training programs in social work, graduate psychology, professional training in child and adolescent mental health, and pre-service or in-service training to paraprofessionals in child and adolescent mental health.

• Section 756 of the Public Health Services Act is amended to include language regarding the qualifications of institutions eligible for these training grants and that at least four will go to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) or Minority Serving Institutions (MSI).  Authorization for up to $8 million in funds is provided for social work.

Medicare MD & MSW Fee Schedule Update
Clinical social workers that participate in Medicare Part B will have their payment rates temporarily protected against large cuts scheduled for 2010 because Congress acted on a short-term bill to delay the cut required by the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, which determines outpatient payment rates in Medicare and TRICARE. The SGR formula is frequently inappropriately described as the Medicare “physician fee” formula, but it actually sets the rate of increase or decrease for all Medicare Part B independent practitioners, including clinical social workers. NASW supports legislation that would halt scheduled cuts in Medicare payments to clinical social workers and other health professionals and has urged Congress to adopt legislation to recalibrate how these payments are set each year. See NASW’s letter to Congress here.

Correcting the problem before the rate cuts go into effect on Jan. 1, each year is politically difficult due to the multi-billion dollar costs of correcting the formula. Current law requires large annual reductions in Medicare SGR determined fees, which include rates paid to clinical social workers. Congress rejected several earlier SGR bills this fall, but then passed an eight week extension into February, enabling it to address the payment problem once it finishes work on health care reform. NASW is continuing to work with coalition partners in support of an SGR remedy.

Appropriations Bill Funds Study on Mental Workforce Issues
During the week of December 9, Congress finished the annual appropriations bill for the federal FY 2010, Labor-HHS-Education spending bill, which is available on the House Appropriations website. One item of special interest to the social work profession is the inclusion of $900,000 for the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to study mental health workforce needs focused on (1) a systematic analysis of the current and projected mental and behavioral healthcare needs of the American people, particularly for aging and growing ethnic populations; and (2) developing policy recommendations for achieving a competent and well-trained mental health workforce to address those needs.  Congressional authors justified the study as necessary in light of the projected doubling of the aged population by 2030, new evidence of the importance of addressing mental health needs as part of effective chronic disease management, increased numbers of veterans with post traumatic stress disorder, improved diagnostic techniques, and implementation of the new federal mental health parity law. The study expands on IOM’s 2008 broader study on the geriatric workforce, which did not explore mental health workforce needs in depth. NASW worked with other mental health professional groups to support this funding in the new law, and will advocate vigorously for the representation of the social work profession in the work of the IOM.

Health Legislation Prospects for 2010
At the start of the new year, Congress is not expected to consider major new health legislation, but congressional committees will consider routine health legislation, particularly those bills that were set aside last year to make time for health reform legislation. These include the 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act, reauthorization of HHS/Public Health Service programs under the jurisdiction of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Furthermore, congressional oversight of new federal programs to promote the use of health information technology (HIT) and to protect confidential patient information is expected to be a priority. NASW will represent clinical social worker interests to ensure the profession is included for all Medicare HIT incentive payments and that psychotherapy notes are protected in federal privacy regulations.
Congress also faces a variety of funding challenges to implement health care reform, particularly programs that support the education and training of the health professions. NASW will aggressively pursue expanded federal support for the social work profession in these federal initiatives. As in past years, Congress has not settled on a long-term solution to the Medicare physician payment formula, which also determines the payment rate for clinical social workers and all the health professions that directly bill Medicare Part B.  NASW will continue to advocate for adequate payment rates for the profession during this protracted debate. NASW members who wish to stay informed about health and behavioral health developments in the new Congress should follow NASW’s webpage.

NIH Approves New Stem Cell Lines
On December 2, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) approved 13 new human embryonic stem cell lines for use by NIH funded researchers. Another 96 embryonic stem cell lines are undergoing NIH review. In March, President Obama expanded the number of such cell lines beyond those available under a policy set by President George W. Bush, which permitted research to begin only with lines already available on Aug. 9, 2001. To read more, go to the NIH press release.

Needle and Syringe Exchanges Ban Lifted
On December 13, the Senate passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of FY2010 by a vote of 57 - 35.  The President is expected to sign the bill before the continuing resolution expires.  Among many other important provisions, the bill removes the federal funding ban on syringe exchange. The provision allows the distribution of syringes through syringe exchange as long as local public health or local law enforcement authorities do not object to a specific location as being inappropriate for distribution.

NASW Supports Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act
On November 30, NASW sent a letter to Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR) thanking her for introducing S. 2837 the Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act. The bill will help ensure a workforce that can accurately assess the strengths and needs of children and families, connect children and their families to services, monitor their progress, and improve outcomes for children. NASW sent an alert to the Advocacy Listserv looking for cosponsors.

Immigration Bill Introduced in House
Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL-4) introduced immigration legislation, Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity (H.R. 4321), in the House on December 15. Congress is beginning to shape the immigration debate with the introduction of this bill and NASW is developing our strategy. You can view the bill here. Immigration will be an important issue tackled in 2010.

Veteran’s Affairs
Recently, we heard from a member of NASW who is an MSW student and a veteran who recently returned from Afghanistan.  He hoped to find a mental health counselor who was both a veteran and a social worker.  While he strongly supports the work of all social workers, he wanted to find one who could directly relate to his experience in war.  The Veterans Administration in his area was unable to locate such a person for him, and other non-VA efforts came up empty as well.

This is a clear connection between member needs and NASW advocacy.  Veterans represent a constituency who may choose to enter social work to benefit both their peers and other members of society, but only if there is a distinct path for them to do so.  Thus, NASW has intensified its focus on veteran’s issues.  This improvement is meant to benefit not just veterans, but the field of social work as well.

Senate Continues Consideration of Health Care Reform

The Senate is currently debating health care reform legislation. Numerous amendments are pending and each will require 60 votes for passage, a high threshold for inclusion. NASW has mobilized its members on reproductive rights, coverage for routine patient care costs associated with clinical trials participation, and we anticipate further mobilization on other issues in the debate. Final passage may occur late this week, and reconciliation of differences with the House versions could extend into early 2010.

NASW has recently called on all of its members to contact their Senators to support the bill (H.R. 3590), and a link to our most recent action alert is here. NASW has written to Majority Leader Reid supporting the Senate reform bill, and a copy may be viewed on the NASW Web site.

NASW Supports Clinical Trials Amendment

On December 7, NASW sent a letter to Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) in support of their amendment to H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment would require that all third-party payers cover routine patient care costs incurred by patients enrolled in clinical trials. The amendment will apply to all phases of clinical trials for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

To view the entire letter, please go here.

Social Work Medicare Equity Act in HCR

Section 1307 of the House health care reform bill (H.R. 3200) authorizes clinical social workers eligible to participate under Medicare Part B to bill independently for services to Medicare Part A covered residents of Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). The provision removes Part B-eligible clinical social work services from the Medicare SNF per diem rate and alternatively authorizes them to bill for them separately. This is a long-sought change by NASW that will provide parity recognition for the profession in a SNF setting and expand the availability of clinical social work services to SNF residents covered by Medicare Part A. The Senate version of health care reform legislation (H.R. 3590) does not contain a similar provision, meaning the difference between the two bills must be ironed out in conference committee on the health reform legislation. NASW will work with House and Senate offices to support the provision when conference committee consideration begins.

Medicare MD & MSW Fee Schedule Update

Clinical social workers that participate in Medicare Part B will have their payment rates protected against large cuts scheduled for 2010 if Congress acts quickly on legislation to repeal the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, which determines outpatient payment rates in Medicare and TRICARE. The SGR formula is frequently inappropriately described as the Medicare “physician fee” formula, but it actually sets the rate of increase or decrease for all Medicare Part B independent practitioners, including clinical social workers. NASW supports legislation that would halt scheduled cuts in Medicare payments to clinical social workers and other health professionals and has urged Congress to adopt legislation to recalibrate how these payments are set each year. See NASW’s letter to Congress here.

Correcting the problem before the rate cuts go into effect on Jan. 1, is politically difficult due to the multi-billion dollar costs of correcting the formula. Current law requires large annual reductions in Medicare SGR determined fees, which include rates paid to clinical social workers. Congress has rejected several SGR bills this fall, but is expected to address the payment problem once it finishes work on health care reform. There is a real possibility that corrective legislation may not pass until sometime after the cuts go into effect on Jan. 1. In the past Congress has occasionally failed to enact the SGR payment legislation by the end of the year, but has later passed retroactive legislation that restores provider payment rates. Without congressional action, payment rates for Medicare physician and clinical social worker services will drop by 21 percent on January 1, 2010. NASW is continuing to work with coalition partners in support of an SGR remedy.

Appropriations Bill Funds Study on Mental Workforce Issues

This past weekend, Congress finished the annual appropriations bill for the federal FY 2010, Labor-HHS-Education spending bill, which is available here on the House Appropriations website. One item of special interest to the social work profession is the inclusion of $900,000 for the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to study mental health workforce needs focused on (1) a systematic analysis of the current and projected mental and behavioral healthcare needs of the American people, particularly for aging and growing ethnic populations; and (2) developing policy recommendations for achieving a competent and well-trained mental health workforce to address those needs. Congressional authors justified the study as necessary in light of the projected doubling of the aged population by 2030, new evidence of the importance of addressing mental health needs as part of effective chronic disease management, increased numbers of veterans with post traumatic stress disorder, improved diagnostic techniques, and implementation of the new federal mental health parity law. The study expands on IOM’s 2008 broader study on the geriatric workforce, which did not explore mental health workforce needs in depth. NASW worked with other mental health professional groups to support this funding in the new law, and plans to advocate vigorously for the representation of the social work profession in the work of the IOM.

Items of Interest from the White House

New Video by Vice President Biden on Seniors and Health Reform

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/vice-president-biden-dispells-myths-around-medicare-and-health-reform

Reality Check: CMS Report Confirms Reform Will Benefit Seniors, Slow Cost Growth

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/12/11/reality-check-cms-report-confirms-reform-will-benefit-seniors-slow-cost-growth

Take Action Today - Click here!

Action Requested

Please contact your Senator today and urge them to support passage of health care reform legislation. Tell them passage of this legislation (H.R. 3590) is vital to rebuilding the nation’s health and economic security and you urge an “aye” vote on the floor.

NASW members that are constituents of the following Senators are especially encouraged to let your representative know your views. Key swing votes are: Collins R-ME; Landrieu D-LA; Lieberman I-CT; Nelson D-NE; Snowe R-ME; Lincoln D-AR; Bayh D-IN; and Webb D-VA.

Background

Social workers are long-time advocates for major health care reform. For decades they have carried the vision of former Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, a pioneer in the social work profession, who included universal health care on the 12-item agenda she brought to President Franklin Roosevelt. This was the only item on her agenda that did not pass into law, and social workers have actively sought health care reform since that time.

NASW believes the health reform legislation, H.R. 3590, now pending before the Senate will provide more affordable, quality coverage for millions more Americans. It calls for shared responsibility by individuals, employers and government and would also expand health insurance coverage choices, including retaining one’s current coverage, expanding private plan options within the states, and offering a Medicare buy-in option for residents aged 55-64. NASW gave its support to the Senate bill when floor debate began two weeks ago, and since then important changes have been made in the bill. You may view our Senate letter here on the NASW Web site.

Although details of the latest Senate Democratic changes on health care reform are not yet public, the outlines are known and they please many supporters of reform. The new deal would substitute the original rather weak “public option” in favor of a large expansion of Medicare coverage. An important advantage of the new compromise is that it would limit the high administrative costs of for-profit insurers, and offer Medicare coverage for those aged 55-64. Senate leaders have kept the details under wraps to preserve their freedom to rewrite their plan if initial Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates of its cost prove unsatisfactory.

Another aspect of the latest proposal would create a new system of private national health insurance plans administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the agency that currently manages health care benefits for federal employees. In the House, OPM is overseen by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Edolphus Towns D-NY, a life-long professional social worker and supporter of NASW. Rep. Towns would therefore have major influence over the new national plans developed by OPM.

Last, an item of special interest to the social work profession is the Senate bill’s inclusion of important provisions from the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act, (SWRA). The Senate and House bills contain similar provisions that would authorize several million dollars for social work education and training grants in mental and behavioral health.  Furthermore, some of these grants are targeted to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) or Minority Serving Institutions (MSI).  NASW is very pleased social worker advocacy has been so successful on this important issue.

For more information on health care reform, visit our Web page

Take Action!

S. 2837, The Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act, was recently introduced by Senator Lincoln and aims to improve the child welfare workforce for the thousands of children and families who depend on this system every day. NASW lobbyists worked for many years to create this legislation, in collaboration with the Children’s Defense Fund and other coalition partners, and we are fully committed to enhancing the federal response to protect children and to prevent abuse and neglect. Highlights of the bill:

• A study that would result in recommendations to recruit and retain a high quality workforce to include training, workloads, and staff supervision.
• Flexible use of Title IV-E training dollars to support child welfare staff providing preventive, protective, reunification, and post-permanency services in addition to foster care, kinship guardianship, and adoption services.
• A demonstration grant program to help states and municipalities improve their workforce. Projects would focus on improving the child welfare systems’ ability to conduct needs assessments and secure resources.

Action Requested:

Please contact your Senator and ask them to cosponsor The Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act (S. 2837). Let them know that passage of this important legislation will enable social workers and other professionals to improve the crucial services for children and families in the child welfare system.

Thanks for your advocacy!