Background
President Barack Obama and House and Senate leaders have stated their commitment to enacting comprehensive health care reform legislation this year. June promises to be a very important and busy month with President Obama planning to release his health care proposal in the coming days and with the House and Senate in the midst of drafting their respective bills.
CSWE has joined the debate by developing a set of health care reform principles that address the need for enhanced investment in the health professions workforce, particularly social work. Specifically, CSWE’s principles address the role of social work in primary care, reducing health disparities through culturally competent care, and the need for better incentives to improve recruitment and retention in the social work profession. In addition, CSWE recently provided staff on the Congressional committees tasked with drafting health care legislation with legislative text that should be included. These legislative proposals focus on providing loan forgiveness and other financial incentives, which would help to ensure that the health professions workforce is able to meet the needs of the health care system and that professionals, especially social workers, are equipped with the necessary skills to provide culturally competent care in all settings
How You Can Help
Please help ensure that workforce issues are addressed in health care reform by contacting your House Representative and Senators today. Legislation is currently being drafted—it is critical that your Members of Congress hear from you during the next couple of weeks. Please reach out to your delegations between now and June 12.
How To
Step 1
Visit www.house.gov (enter your zip code) and www.senate.gov to find the email address and/or fax number of your House representative and two senators.
Step 2
Email or fax your Members of Congress (do not send letters through U.S. mail as they will not arrive in a timely manner) using the letter template below. In your communication, you want to relay that (1) you are writing as a constituent and (2) that you are seeking the Member’s support for enhancing the social work workforce within the context of health care reform this year.