Effective June 1, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has once again delayed enforcement of the “Red Flags” Rule through December 31, 2010. The FTC stated this new delay is necessary to allow time for Congress to consider legislation that would affect the scope of entities covered by the Rule. Institutions will remain under the original November 1, 2008, deadline for compliance.

The Rule was developed under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, in which Congress directed the FTC to develop regulations requiring creditors and financial institutions to address the risk of identity theft. The resulting “Red Flags” Rule requires all entities that have covered accounts to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs to help identify, detect, and respond to patterns, practices, or specific activities – known as “red flags” – that could indicate identity theft. All health care practitioners, including clinical social workers, were originally included for enforcement oversight. FTC action today again temporarily suspends their inclusion under the rule, and the Commission urged Congress to act quickly to pass legislation that will resolve questions as to which entities are covered by the Rule.

The “Red Flags” Rules would require many businesses and organizations to implement a written identity theft prevention program designed to detect the warning signs of identity theft in their day-to-day operations. As written, the rules would apply to a wide variety of independent health professionals, including physicians and clinical social workers, in small private and group practices. The Rule’s applicability to health care professionals, particularly small-scale practitioners, is highly controversial.  More information is available at the FTC website here. NASW provided information about the identity theft regulations in the June 2009 LDF Legal Issue of the Month. The article may be accessed here, and members must login in with their userID and password. For more background on NASW activity, please see our recent article in, “News from the Hill,” here: NASW Advocacy Blog.

For information about the Qualified Clinical Social Worker Credential, go here.

For information about the Private Practice Specialty Practice Section, go here.

For information on Clinical Social Work Practice, go here.

For publications on clinical social work practice, go here.

In 1987, the U.S. House of Representatives designated the full third week in April as “National Minority Cancer Awareness Week.  The resolution drew attention to, “an unfortunate, but extremely important fact about cancer.  While cancer affects men and women of every age, race, ethnic background and economic class, the disease has a disproportionately severe impact on minorities and the economically disadvantaged.”  Each year National Minority Cancer Awareness Week promotes increased awareness of prevention and treatment among those segments of the populations at greater risk of developing cancer.  According to the National Cancer Institute, ethnic and minority populations across the United States suffer disproportionately from cancer and its after-effects. Overcoming cancer health disparities is one of the best opportunities we have for lessening the burden of cancer.

To learn more about NASW’s work in addressing cancer, please go to:

Free online continuing education courses in understanding cancer, cancer caregiving, and adherence to cancer oral medications:  http://www.naswwebed.org/. 

Articles for the public:   www.helpstartshere.org.

Health Specialty Practice Section:  http://www.socialworkers.org/sections/default.asp.

Credentials:  http://www.socialworkers.org/credentials/default.asp. 

Standards: http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/default.asp.  

Publications:  www.naswpress.org. 

Cancer Survivor Toolbox ®:  http://www.canceradvocacy.org/toolbox/. 

This is a free, self-learning audio program that has been developed by leading cancer organizations to help people develop important skills to better meet and understand the challenges of their illness.

As social workers we often serve as volunteers and have volunteers serve with us. Volunteers are essential to the operation of so many non-profit organizations.  President Obama signed a proclamation for National Volunteer Week, April 18-24, 2010. In the proclamation, he states, “During National Volunteer Week, we honor the ordinary people who give of themselves to accomplish extraordinary things, and we encourage more Americans to strengthen our country by volunteering.” To read the full proclamation, visit the White House Web site. To find out where to serve in your community, go to www.serve.gov.

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

Please comment on this post.

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.

Health Reform Update

With the election of Senator Scott Brown (R-MA), there were concerns that health care reform would take a back seat to other congressional priorities such as jobs and the economy. Congressional leaders are still committed to passing health care reform legislation this year.  Congress believes that the status quo of health care is no longer acceptable and the impact of not reforming health care could be worse than doing nothing.  Many congressional members and health care advocates are supporting the following strategies to move the health care legislation forward.

• 1. The House would pass the Senate health bill (HR. 3590) with at least 218 votes. Currently, there are not enough votes for this option because many House democrats have differences with certain provisions in the Senate bill.
• 2. The Senate would then pass a reconciliation bill to include the items that are germane to the budget. The reconciliation measure would also include any provisions negotiated with the White House and Senate leaders. With the reconciliation bill, the Senate would only need 51 votes for passage.
• 3. The final option is to draft a compromise bill. The measure would change the massive Senate-approved health bill to what bargainers from the White House, Senate and House agreed to in December.

These negotiations are ongoing with an uncertain timetable for completion. NASW will continue to press for its legislative priorities as Congress debates its next steps as well as additional health issues that are of interest to social workers.

NASW Cosponsored Health Action 2010 Conference

Families USA held its 15th Annual Grassroots Meeting Health Action 2010 on January 28-30, 2010 in Washington, DC.  NASW was a cosponsor of the conference.  Some of the presenters included White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Sen. Al Franken, Reps. Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen, NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous, and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin. To view, their presentations and more from the conference, go to:

http://www.familiesusa.org/conference/health-action-2010/webcast.html

Feds Issue Parity Rules

Federal officials with the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury jointly issued interim final rules on the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), signed into law by President Bush in October 2008. The rules implementing the new law require that mental health and addiction benefits in group health insurance plans be equal to most medical and surgical benefits. It will take effect this July 1. The new rules prohibit group health insurance plans from restricting access to care by limiting benefits and requiring higher patient costs than those that apply to general medical or surgical benefits.

The interim final rules were based on a review of more than 400 comments, officials said. NASW joined with a 44-member coalition of mental health groups last year in commenting on the “Request for Information” in a letter linked here. The coalition’s letter urged the federal government to interpret the intent of the legislation in the most consumer-favorable manner possible. Co-signers are very pleased the new rules appear to have done so. Among the most significant interpretations, the rules require that group health plans that choose to offer mental health and addiction benefits along with medical and surgical benefits “must treat them equally in terms of out-of-pocket costs, benefit limits and practices such as prior authorization and utilization review.” The regulations were published Tuesday, February 2, 2010, with a comment period extending until May 3. The effective date for the rules will be for plan years beginning on or after July 1. NASW is working now on comments for the proposed rules.

MHPAEA contains several significant limitations. One is the absence of a mandate that mental health and addiction benefits be offered by every plan, and the law does not specify which conditions have to be covered, a major point of contention during congressional debate. At this early time, mental health groups report they have seen no significant trend of employers eliminating coverage for behavioral health benefits as a way to avoid implementing parity requirements. A second major limit of the law is that it applies only to public or private employers with 50 or more workers, including both self-insured and fully insured entities. Group health plans for companies with fewer than 50 employees are exempt, and the law does not apply to issuers who sell plans to individuals. Federal officials said that about 160 million residents are covered in large employers’ group health insurance plans.

The rules greatly expand an earlier law, the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which required parity only for aggregate lifetime and annual dollar limits between the categories of benefits. Another major benefit of the new law is that it extends protections to substance use disorder benefits. NASW and other advocacy groups spent years advocating for the legislation along with a large coalition of mental health and substance abuse treatment advocacy organizations. Its long-time congressional champions included the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-MA, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) now retired, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I. and Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN) also now retired.

Resources for social workers

• NASW’s January 2009 summary here.
• Federal Fact Sheet summarizing the law here.
• New interim final rules here.
• Legal summary of the rules here.

President Backs Medicaid Relief for the States

President Obama’s new federal budget proposal tops $3.8 trillion, and it includes many programs that directly impact social workers and their clients. One proposal is particularly critical to maintaining current Medicaid services during the economic downturn. The President’s budget backs an additional $25 billion in federal fiscal relief for state Medicaid programs. NASW had joined with other advocacy groups in pushing for additional Medicaid state fiscal relief in new legislation. Advocates and the states support the additional federal funds to help maintain state Medicaid services during the current economic crisis that has depleted funds for care. The President’s budget includes a 6.2 percent increase in the amount of money states get for Medicaid, and those with higher unemployment rates would get even more assistance. Large states with generous Medicaid programs such as California and New York stand to benefit most from the plan. Advocates of the funding also argue that it protects unrelated state jobs and activities by allowing states to avoid shifting funds to maintain critical Medicaid services.

House to Vote on Antitrust Exemption for Health Insurers

House Democratic Leaders plan to vote on the floor within days on a partial repeal of the health insurance industry’s exemption from antitrust laws (H.R. 3596). The legislation would eliminate a long-standing federal law that excludes the insurance industry from federal antitrust 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 insurance regulatory system in place today. This Act also exempted the insurance industry from federal antitrust law. Therefore, the Justice Department cannot now enforce federal antitrust law on the insurance industry. Some advocates believe that eliminating this restriction may boost competition among insurers and thereby help reduce prices to consumers. Other analysts believe the change will not impact insurance company practices. NASW is tracking this legislation and more background appears in a prior issue of the Health Care Reform Roundup here.

Passing the measure now begins a new House Democratic Leadership strategy of moving popular but narrow bills that will be split off from the House’s comprehensive version of health care reform (H.R. 3962). Support for antitrust legislation is widespread in the House, and it is expected to draw some Republican support. However, prospects in the Senate appear much dimmer as the measure failed to reach the 60 vote threshold for passage last December. Other popular provisions in comprehensive health care bill, including banning insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, are not candidates for splitting off for separate enactment.

Democrats hope to score political points by supporting a bill aimed at the insurance industry while Republicans could risk appearing as though that they are trying to protect them. Democrats also believe that passage of several small provisions from the larger health reform initiative could help revive some momentum for passage of the comprehensive bill.

Key Medicare Provisions up in the Air

A major legislative problem was created by the delay in passing comprehensive health care legislation; that is, how to pass expiring Medicare provisions that require immediate congressional action. The expiring Medicare provisions include large rate cuts that directly impact payments to clinical social workers billing Medicare independently under Part B. Clinical social workers face two large rate cuts under expiring law. These include the physician payment provision in Medicare law that leads to a 21 percent cut in all Medicare Part B rates due to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula that affects all practitioners. For more than a decade, all Medicare Part B payment rates have been set by the SGR formula, which by statute annually expire, cutting payments to providers. Each year Congress has intervened to postpone the SGR cut, but due to the costs of a permanent repeal, Congress has not agreed to a solution to the underlying flaws in the formula. NASW supports a permanent change in the Medicare formula (see our letter here). In late December Congress agreed to postpone the SGR cut for two months, but on March 1, 2010, the SGR cut will again go into effect. That agreement leaves Congress only this month to enact another extension to correct the SGR formula. Congress had hoped to use comprehensive health reform as a vehicle to address the Medicare SGR correction.

In addition to the SGR reduction, Medicare psychotherapy rates already received a five percent cut due to a CMS five-year rate review implemented in 2008. Clinical social workers and psychologists have worked together for several years to ensure the psychotherapy rate cut also does not go into effect.  An increase for psychotherapy billing codes was included in the House version of health care reform (H.R. 3590), but not the Senate version (S. 3962). Again, with the delay in enacting comprehensive reform, a new legislative vehicle must be found to delay this cut. NASW is working very aggressively with a coalition of health practitioner groups to pressure Congress to include this provision in the SGR legislation.

Health Reform Essential for Reducing Deficit

Rising health care costs represent the single largest cause of the federal government’s long-term budget deficit making passage of comprehensive health reform legislation essential to any effective action on long-term deficit reduction. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate and House health reform bills would reduce deficits both over the decade from 2010 through 2019 and after that. Both bills also contain a wide range of measures to restructure the U.S. health system and slow the growth of health care costs, particularly Medicare costs.

A new analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities describes the problem and how the pending legislation would address it here.

U.S. Government to pay more than half of U.S. health costs by 2012

A new report by federal actuaries shows government programs will pay for more than half of all U.S. health care spending by 2012. The health care spending projection data can be found on the CMS web site at

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/03_NationalHealthAccountsProjected.asp

U.S. Surgeon General Report on Obesity

On January 28, First Lady Michelle Obama, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin announced initiatives to help Americans lead healthier lives through better nutrition, regular physical activity, and improving communities to support healthy choices. To read the Surgeon General’s Report, go to:

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/obesityvision/obesityvision2010.pdf

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.

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.

5 Things to Do For Health Care Reform

1. Attend a Town Hall Meeting in your area and discuss what you would like to see in health care reform.
2. Contact your members of Congress about health care reform.
3. Submit your health care stories to the White House.
4. Keep informed of developments on health care reform.
5. Join the NASW Advocacy listserv to be alerted of developments in health care reform.

President Addressed Joint Session of Congress to Discuss Health Reform

On September 9, President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to lay out his plan for health reform.  The speech was viewed as a way to restart and focus the discussion on Capitol Hill on health reform legislation.  The President offered additional details to further shape the debate and move closer to consideration and passage of a final proposal.   The three main principles President Obama outlined to make his case for health reform include the following:

• Provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance.
• Provide insurance to those who don’t.
• Lower the cost of health care

To read the plan, please go to:  White House plan

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Announces Release of Health Reform Bill

On September 16, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Senate Finance Committee Chairman introduced his highly anticipated health reform bill.  America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 would make major changes to the nation’s $2.5 trillion health care system, including requiring most people to purchase insurance coverage or pay a fine and prohibiting insurance companies from charging more to people with serious health problems.  NASW is currently analyzing the bill and will release a summary focusing on NASW concerns.   A press release and summary of the bill can be found at: Finance summary. The entire bill can be found at: Finance bill. NASW is working with coalition partners now on developing a response to the bill. When complete, our comments will be posted on our website at: NASW’s health reform page.

Senator Harkin is Chairman of Senate HELP Committee

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) took over as Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee after the death of Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA).  Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), who was serving as the Acting Chairman of the HELP Committee, chose to remain as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.  Senator Harkin has a proven record of support for health related issues as long time Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education and Related Services.  He will remain as Chairman of that subcommittee.

HHS Releases New State by State Analysis Regarding the Uninsured

On September 16, the Department of Health and Human Services released a new state by state analysis of last week’s U.S. Census numbers regarding the uninsured.   Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated, “Our health care system has reached a breaking point. The status quo is unsustainable, and continuing to delay reform is not an option.”  Some of the conclusions of the report include the following:

• Nationwide, the number of uninsured has increased from 39.8 million in 2001 to 46.3 million in 2008.
• Across the nation, more and more working Americans are uninsured, left without protection from health care costs.
• In nearly every state, private coverage is eroding with the percentage of people covered by employer-based coverage decreasing.
• Even among high-income households, the ranks of the uninsured are rapidly growing

To learn more and view state by state data, please go to:  http://www.healthreform.gov/healthcarestatus.html.

NASW Cosponsors Senate Health Disparities Briefing

On September 22, NASW, in conjunction with the National Working Group on Health Disparities and Health Reform, is cosponsoring a senate briefing, entitled, “The Cost-Savings of Reducing Health Disparities in Health Reform.”  The focus of this briefing will be to highlight the costs associated with health disparities in our country, as well as the cost-savings we would realize from reducing these critical disparities. Within that context, the briefing will include discussions such as why data collection is critical, and issues regarding workforce development, language access, health coverage, quality, prevention, and economic costs and savings.

Comparison of Health Care Reform Proposals

We have posted on our Health Care Reform Web page a document compiled by Alston and Bird, LLP that compares the three health care reform proposals in Congress.

Legislation

The Energy and Commerce Committee reached a deal on America’s Affordable Health Choice Act of 2009, H.R. 3200. The Ways and Means Committee and Education and Labor Committee had already reported the bill out of committee. On the Senate side, the Senate Finance Committee has six members meeting to reconcile differences.

Legislative Climate

With the House in recess and the Senate headed out on Aug. 7, the nature of the health care reform discussion has shifted. Rather than worrying about legislative minutiae that can’t be resolved until September, both parties are now focused on how to explain the issue once they’re back home in their respective districts and states. On one hand, both Democrats and Republicans need a narrative that is simple enough to understand, but not so simple that it insults voters’ intelligence and oversimplifies a complex issue.

President Obama has travel plans throughout the West to sell his understanding of recent developments. Meanwhile, Democrats of every stripe (progressive, conservative Blue Dogs, and others) will be sharing their experiences with voters, while Republicans face the challenge of explaining to voters why Democrat-driven reform constitutes a needless and expensive government takeover.

Meetings Attended

NASW has attended several meetings on health care reform over the past week, including:

• Alliance for Health Reform briefing on Financing Health Care Reform.
• Families USA field organizing meetings.
• Meeting with representatives of non-medical professions concerned with coverage requirements in health care reform.

· Conference call with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sibelius and Mary Wakefield, Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) regarding new funding for health care professions training. See http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/07/20090728c.html for the press release.

Conference call with Tina Tchen, White House Office of Public Engagement and with Christina Romer, Chair, Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) regarding small business and health care reform. See http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Weekly-Address-Health-Insurance-Reform-Small-Business-and-Your-Questions/ for a video by the President, as well as links to the findings in the report.

• Meeting with Dr. Mary Wakefield, Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and additional HRSA staff on areas of mutual interest regarding the health care professions. Dr. Wakefield expressed support for the importance of social workers in health care.

Letters

• NASW sent a letter of support for H.R. 3200 to Speaker Pelosi, Chairmen Waxman, Miller and Rangel.

Resources

Families USA has an August Recess Tool Kit available on their Web site for outreach efforts to members of Congress during the August recess. It’s a one-stop shop of tools and resources to help you galvanize your communities around the message that health reform cannot wait.

For ongoing information, please visit our health care page.

Keep up with the latest from NASW on Facebook, Twitter, and the NASW Advocacy Blog. We want your feedback: post to the Wall and leave your comments on the blog.

The White House has posted eight benefits of Health Insurance Reform and asked people to comment on them. You can go to the Slide Share Web page and comment on them.

The White House Council of Economic Advisors released a report about the Economic Effects of Health Care Reform on Small Businesses and their Employees.

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.

Legislation Introduced
On July 14, 2009, Rep. Dingell (MI-15) introduced the America’s Affordable Health Choice Act of 2009, H.R. 3200. This act is the result of work among three committees in the House to fulfill President Obama’s goals of reducing health care costs, protecting and increasing consumers’ choices, and guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.  NASW was pleased with this initial bill.  Three committees have considered the bill and numerous amendments have been made as the bill moves through the legislative process.   To watch the committee markups and obtain information about the amendments, go to the Energy and Commerce Committee, Ways and Means Committee, or Education and Labor Committee. The Energy and Commerce Committee has yet to report the bill out of committee.

Legislative Climate
While House Democratic leadership has negotiated with conservative Blue Dog Democrats to achieve significant progress, the party lacks sufficient support from its own Members in the Senate.  As a result, the White House and Democratic Senate leadership are working with moderate Republicans to try and achieve meaningful reform.  The primary items up for discussion are the idea of a government “cooperative” to compete with private health care companies, rather than a public option, as well as a possible tax on higher-cost health care plans in the country.  Meanwhile, President Obama has continued to tour the country, providing updates on health care legislation and urging Americans to support his ideals for reform.

Meetings Attended
NASW has attended several meetings on health care reform over the past week, including:

• Patients’ Access to Responsible Care Alliance meeting focusing on the legislative concerns of non-medical doctor providers participating in the Medicare program.
• Alliance for Health Reform briefing on mental health benefits in health care reform legislation.
• Senate staff on an amendment concerning state and federal law on non-medical doctor billing under health care reform.
• Key member of Congress on health care reform during a PACE-supported dinner.

Letters Signed (The text of these letters will be posted on the Health Care Reform Page)

• Mental Health Liaison Group to Chairmen Waxman, Rangel, and Miller expressing support for H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.
• Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) letter expressing support for the Reed Amendment to the Affordable Health Choices Act. This important measure is aimed at improving the overall health status of Americans served by Community Mental Health Center (CMHCs) and other community-based mental health and addiction providers.
• Four letters from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities supporting the introduction of H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act. The letters went to Chairmen Waxman, Rangel, and Miller, and Speaker Pelosi.
• Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities letter to Chairman Kennedy expressing deep appreciation for the effort that has gone into getting the Affordable Health Choices Act successfully passed by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.  This comprehensive health reform legislation represents a positive sea change that will significantly improve access to health and long term services and supports for people with disabilities and chronic conditions.

——————————————————————————-
Resources

• Families USA released a new report, Coverage for America: We All Stand to Gain. The report provides state-by-state estimates of how many people will gain coverage under America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. The report indicates that the health reform bill proposed by key committees in the House will benefit all Americans.
  
• For ongoing information, please visit our health care page.
  
• Keep up with the latest from NASW on Facebook, Twitter, and the NASW Advocacy Blog.  We want your feedback: Post to the fan page’s wall and leave your comments on the blog.
  
• You can visit the White House Web page to see updates on health care reform. After you read it, come and post a note on our Social Work Blog (hyperlink to the blog)  about it.

NASW has been working on health care reform for decades. Most recently, we have collaborated with a number of groups that are aiming to enact health care reform now. For more information on our efforts, visit our Health Care Reform page.  This page attempts to bring together the work that NASW is doing in collaboration with other organizations on health care reform.