By Carrie Dorn, MPA, LMSW, NASW Senior Practice Associate At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first declared a 90-day public health emergency (PHE). The PHE declaration allowed flexibility in health care funding and regulations to respond to the pandemic. Since January 2020, the PHE has ... Read More »
Posted April 22, 2022 On April 6, 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a report entitled The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff. The report represents the culmination of 18 months of work by a study committee that included NASW Social Work Pioneer® and Wisconsin Chapter ... Read More »
Posted January 28, 2022, and revised February 10, 2022 This post updates information provided in a Social Work Blog post of December 17, 2021. The January 28, 2022, post was revised on February 10, 2022, to reflect changes since publication. Following its November 12 release of guidance for nursing home visitation during the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS released three versions of ... Read More »
See the “No Surprises Act Regulations 2022” page on Socialworkers.org Alert: Information in this blog post was updated on January 5, 2022 NASW will continue to monitor policy developments pertaining to surprise billing and update members as new information is made available. See January 5, 2022 update. Application to Clinical Social Work Services December 21, 2021 Under a new federal ... Read More »
Posted December 17, 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on nursing home residents, families, and staff. Limitations on visits from family (as defined by each resident), other personal guests, and even certain service providers (such as hospice personnel and long-term care ombudsmen) have drastically exacerbated loneliness and social isolation among residents. Recognizing the physical and emotional toll ... Read More »
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has joined other organizations in criticizing the final 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services failed to provide relief from a significant shift in physician and non-physician payments expected to take effect on January 1, 2021. The cuts scheduled to go into effect will severely hamper the delivery of health ... Read More »
There are many challenges that face children who age out of the foster care system, including education, housing, and health care. One rarely-addressed challenge is oral health care. Children who have aged out of the foster care system face considerable barriers in accessing oral health care. Although this population of foster care alumni may have Medicaid insurance while they are ... Read More »
On Thursday, July 13, the Senate released a modified discussion draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) of 2017. Despite several changes to the original draft, the Senate’s latest iteration comes up woefully short, maintaining among other things, the devastating cuts to the Medicaid program that would leave millions of Americans without the coverage they count on for mental ... Read More »
Dear Senator Collins, We are writing to share our views regarding the ongoing debate over repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. We appreciate the thoughtful attention you have given this issue and thank you for your careful examination of various proposals being considered. We understand that the Senate is not likely to bring the House’s American Health Care ... Read More »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The full fiscal year 2018 budget request released by President Trump would shred this nation’s social safety net, prompting the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) to call on Congress to stand up for our nation’s most vulnerable citizens and reject it. It has often been said that a presidential budget is a statement of values. If that ... Read More »
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