Urge your Members of Congress to Improve Access to Telemental Health Services
The Telemental Health Care Access Act (S. 3651/H.R. 3432)
The Telemental Health Care Access Act is much-needed bipartisan, bicameral legislation that will permanently remove a problematic requirement that Medicare beneficiaries be seen in person as a prerequisite to receiving telemental health services.
Mental health conditions remain the top telehealth diagnosis since the onset of the pandemic, rising from 34% to 67% of diagnoses. Starting in 2025, Medicare will require that beneficiaries have an in-person visit within the last 6 months to access telemental health care. This requirement only applies to telemental health care, thereby perpetuating inequities in accessing these desperately needed services. Fortunately, NASW has successfully advocated that Congress delay the effective date of this requirement; however, we need your help in ensuring Congress permanently removes it such that it never takes effect.
S. 3651/H.R. 3432 will increase access to telemental health care services for Medicare beneficiaries by removing the 6-month in-person requirement.
Contact your Senators and Representative TODAY and urge them to co-sponsor the Telemental Health Care Access Act. Help them understand the mental health needs of Medicare beneficiaries in your community and why this requirement creates unnecessary burdens and barriers to care. Personalized communication goes a long way with a member of Congress.
NASW-NC Advocacy: Aetna and the State Health Plan (SHP)
In November 2023, North Carolina Joint Insurance Committee (JIC), a group composed of representatives from social work, psychology and psychiatry met with Aetna leaders from the Network Management and Mental Wellbeing Behavioral Health Network to discuss the State Health Plan timeline. NASW-NC Executive Director Valerie Arendt is a current co-chair of this coalition with the North Carolina Psychological Association Executive Director Martha Turner-Quest.
In addition to learning more about Aetna and the State Health Plan, NASW-NC advocated for Aetna to create a Mental Wellbeing Behavioral Health Network which includes the North Carolina behavioral health associations and will be a space to address provider concerns.
Please read more here about Aetna and the State Health Plan information and network enrollment deadlines for providers here:
https://www.naswnc.org/news/667498/NASW-NC-Advocacy-Aetna-and-the-State-Health-Plan-SHP.htm
Voter ID Trial
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal trial over North Carolina’s photo voter identification law remains set for May after a judge refused Wednesday to end efforts by civil rights groups that sued over the requirement on allegations that its provisions are marred by racial bias.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs denied a “summary judgment” motion filed 2 1/2 years ago for members of the State Board of Elections, which is implementing the 2018 ID law enacted by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. After legal delays in state and federal courts, the photo ID requirement under that law began with municipal elections last fall and the March 5 primaries.
Attorneys for GOP legislative leaders also defending the law had told Biggs that they supported the board’s motion, which if granted would have meant the law’s defenders would have prevailed without additional evidence or testimony. A trial is scheduled to begin May 6.
The state NAACP and several local chapters contend that the photo ID mandate, along with other provisions in the law, violate the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act by discriminating disproportionately against Black and Latino residents trying to vote.
State attorneys for the elections board wrote in their 2021 motion that the NAACP’s evidence doesn’t show discriminatory intent by the legislature, and that burdens imposed on voters who lacked ID are “extremely limited.” Compared to a 2013 voter ID law that was struck down, the 2018 law expands the number of qualifying IDs.
Biggs wrote she was denying the board’s motion in part because “genuine disputes” over the facts in the case are present, and otherwise the legal parties “dispute the inferences which may reasonably be drawn from key undisputed facts.”
In late 2019, Biggs had issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law, saying it was tainted because the 2013 law had been struck down on similar grounds of racial bias. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed her decision, writing that Biggs had put too much emphasis on the past conduct of the General Assembly when evaluating the 2018 law.
On Wednesday, Biggs mentioned the reversal but said the defendants weren’t necessarily entitled to a favorable ruling now because the standards for summary judgment are different. Any appeal of summary judgment decisions usually can happen after a trial.
Previous trial dates for the case have been postponed — once when the U.S. Supreme Court weighed Biggs’ earlier refusal to allow GOP lawmakers to join the case and defend the law in court. The U.S. justices sided with the legislative leaders in 2022.
Biggs opened the door to move this case along last summer after the state Supreme Court determined the photo ID law comported with state constitution.
(Source: AP News)
It’s #SocialWorkMonth! Thank you social workers for your role in substance use and misuse prevention, treatment, & recovery — as well as promoting mental health and well-being. #SWMonth2024 #EmpoweringSocialWorkers #PartnersInPrevention
Empowering Social Workers! That's the theme for Social Work Month this March and we're hoping social workers will take this theme to heart as we bring awareness to the life-affirming work that social workers do by sharing your stories across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Our hashtags this year: #SWMonth2024 #EmpoweringSocialWorkers
Governor Cooper Proclaims March 2024 as National Social Work Month
Governor Cooper has proclaimed March 2024 as National Social Work Month in North Carolina. This month, we honor and celebrate the many ways in which the contributions of Social Workers to our state.
You can read Governor Cooper's Social Work Proclamation Here.
Please find Social Work Month information and activities in North Carolina here.
Upcoming NASW-NC Conferences:
Registration Closes: TUESDAY, MARCH 19th!!!!
Doing Good, Doing Well, and Doing Right: Ethical Responses to Trending Workplace Dilemmas
Friday, March 22, 2024 :Virtual on Zoom
8:15am - 4:00pm EST : 6.5 Hours Ethics CE
Registration Fees:
NASW Member - $75
Not yet a member - $150
Student Member of NASW - FREE
(no CE certificate included, student membership verified)
Student not yet a member - $60
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
NC Budget & Tax Center
Our Dollars, Our Future 2024
Thursday, May 2, 2024 from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM ET
Join the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center on May 2 in Raleigh for a day of advocacy to take the budget back to the people. We will be requesting meetings with legislative leadership to demand a more transparent and equitable budget process, and joining together to discuss how we can organize to ensure future budgets fund the services and programs our state needs so every North Carolinian — from Boone to Wilmington and all parts between — has what they need to thrive.
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Every March, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) and its partners collaborate to lead Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (DDAM). The annual campaign highlights how people with and without disabilities come together to form strong communities. DDAM raises awareness of the inclusion and contributions of people with developmental disabilities (DD) in all aspects of community life and serves as a time to explore the work still needed to remove barriers.
NACDD's 2024 theme, A World of Opportunities, focuses on people working together to remove obstacles to building communities where everyone can do well and succeed.
Upcoming NASW-NC Live Webinars:
Please join NASW-NC on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 from 12PM-1:30PM for an engaging virtual lunch and learn webinar. Explore the ethical responsibility outlined in the NASW Code of Ethics, emphasizing the importance of practicing within one’s areas of competence and continuously enhancing professional expertise.
Click HERE to register.
This webinar aims to support providers in developing a foundational understanding of Islam and its practices. Gain insights into fostering cultural sensitivity and humility when serving Muslim clients, with a focus on accommodating faith-based needs. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn directly from Muslim Social Workers and enhance your cultural competence in the social work profession.
Zoom link will be emailed out to registrants the day before the meeting.
If you don't think you have received the Zoom link, please check your Spam folder. If not in your Spam, please email Lauren Zingraff at advocacy.naswnc@socialworkers.org for assistance BEFORE the webinar begins.
Ideas presented by speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and policies of NASW-NC.
The 2024 Short Session begins on April 24, 2024. NASW-NC’s main legislative priority will be to get Senate Bill 718 -Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact passed during the 2024 short session. The Social Work Compact creation was initiated by the Department of Defense to promote licensure portability for military spouses. Many Republican lawmakers, who have the supermajority in both the NC House and Senate, support military populations. The bill’s primary sponsor is Senator Joyce Krawiec, who has announced her plans to retire at the end of the 2024 session. The compact does have bi-partisan support in the NC Senate and was referred to the committee on Rules and Operations on April 10, 2023. It was not subjected to crossover as it was not tied to appropriations. The Social Work Compact will go into effect when at least seven different states pass it. You can see more about the states that have introduced the compact here. NASW-NC has already been speaking with lawmakers about supporting and passing SB 718 when the short session begins. Be sure to watch for updates in upcoming Advocacy Alerts.
Thank you to the members of NASW-NC for supporting the advocacy work we do. We would not be able to advocate for the social work profession or social justice issues in North Carolina without a robust and engaged NASW membership. If you are a social worker and not a member, we ask that you join NASW today. Our voice is louder with your membership.
Learn more about NASW-NC membership here.
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