NASW-SC

NASW SC Chapter Welcomes You to Our Web Site!

The Chapter Office has moved to:

443B Meeting St., West Columbia, SC 29169

____________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW BOARD ORIENTATION

Friday - August 13, 2010

9:00AM - 4:30PM

Columbia Radisson Hotel & Conference Center

2100 Bush River Road

Columbia, SC 29210

CHAPTER ANNOUNCEMENT: 2010-11 BOARD MEETINGS

Friday - August 27, 2010

Friday - October 15, 2010

Friday - January 21, 2011

March 2011 - TBD

Friday - May 20, 2011

____________________________________________________________

Former Past President of SC Chapter Sallie Campbell receives

Social Work Pioneer Award

For More Information Click Here

___________________________________________________________

24th Annual NASW SC Chapter Spring Symposium

Annual Award Winner Photos Click Here to View

The Chapter thanks all who participated

in this important Event.

_______________________________________________________________

Government Relations Update
April 16, 2010

Congress Passes Bill Protecting Medicare Practitioners from Imminent Fee Cut

CMS to Resume Processing April Claims
More Info

Last evening, April 15, 2010, President Obama signed into law the "Continuing Extension Act of 2010." The new law extends through May 31, 2010 the zero percent update to the Medicare "Physician" Fee Schedule (MPFS) which was in effect for claims with dates of service from Jan. 1, 2010, through March 31, 2010. The new law is retroactive to April 1, 2010 and will remain in force until the end of May. Without this new stopgap measure, physicians, clinical social workers and other health professionals that bill Medicare Part B independently faced a scheduled rate cut of 21 percent on claims for service delivered after April 1.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has instructed Medicare contractors to immediately resume processing claims under the new law for services provided by physicians, and non-physician practitioners (NPPs) such as clinical social workers, who are paid under the MPFS. Most claims with dates of service April 1 and later were held by Medicare in anticipation of yesterday's congressional action. If Congress had not acted, payment rates for claims occurring after April 1, by practitioners who are paid under the MPFS would have been reduced by 21 percent, as required by a formula specified in the Medicare law.

The Medicare MPFS cut was originally scheduled to go into effect for claims paid on or after Jan. 1, 2010, but it was first postponed until March 1 by a provision in the Defense Appropriations Act of 2009, and again until April 1, in the Temporary Extenders Act of 2010. This latest Act extends last year's payment levels until the end of next month, May 31, at which time Congress plans to again have reached agreement on a longer-term formula solution. For background information on this matter, please see NASW's website here.

See Committees Continuing Education section for information on the Re-formed Continuing Education Committee.

Midlands Technical College
Continuing Education
2010
Click Here for More Information

HIPAA Breach Notification – September 23, 2009 Effective Date

New HIPAA requirements for identifying and notifying clients of breaches of unsecured, patient-identifying information are effective as of September 23, 2009. Basic information about the privacy breach notice standards is contained in the Legal Defense Fund article, HITECH HIPAA for Social Workers, available at https://www.socialworkers.org/ldf/legal_issue/2009/200903.asp.

The complete text of the Interim Final Regulations is available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-20169.pdf

May/June Newsletter is
now available
Please go to Newsletter page or click here

ASI Announces Auto, Homeowners, and Renters Insurance Programs…

NASW Assurance Services, Inc. (ASI), through a new partnership with Liberty Mutual, is now providing NASW members and their families with access to high quality auto and homeowners insurance. Most members will be able to benefit from a significant group discount.

Click Here for More Information

BOARD ENDORSEMENTS

The NASW SC Chapter Board of Directors has voted to endorse two initiatives.

The first is the South Carolina Social Work Reinvestment Initiative that mirrors the current national Social Work Reinvestment Act that is currently before Congress.

Click Here for More Information

The second endorsement is for a resolution in support of the petition campaign, "Good-bye Minimally Adequate Education." The petition campaign is aimed at getting one million signatures in support of a change in the SC constitution. Please see the link to the board endorsement and to the petition drive website where you can sign online.

Click Here for Board Endorsement and go here

to sign the petition and to find out more about how to support the Constitutional Amendment for "High Quality" Education.

BREAKING NEWS:

Recently a group of students at the University of South Carolina “got on the bus” and created PSAs to help spread the word. Please take a moment to view the video and virally share the link with your friends. Watch the video here or copy and paste the following link into your browser:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzWjk_0rEDU

NASW’s New Online CEU Provider

CEUSchool’s goal is to provide you with quality on-line course content in a format that is convenient to use, affordable, and relevant for today's social worker. Their site offers fully accredited NASW classes that meet all of your CEU needs. You will receive the same academic benefits that you would enjoy at an onsite facility, along with the flexibility and self-paced learning that comes with an online education.

Go to this site to register:

http://www.ceuschool.com/?PageID=newmembers.ascx&chapter=NASWSC

NASW Launches Loan Forgiveness Web Page for Members

NASW chapters and national lobbied for and saw passage of a variety of loan forgiveness provisions in the past couple of years. These efforts were part of ongoing work to improve working conditions, salaries, and other benefits for members of the profession and to ensure that consumers have access to qualified social work professionals. NASW has compiled information on loan forgiveness at the state and national levels and created a Web site providing the most up-to-date information.

NASW STEP

(Students to Engaged Professionals)

Mentorship Program

Are you a seasoned professional?

A new social worker? A student?

Is there information you would like to share,

or feel you need to learn from someone

with experience in Social Work?

Please consider becoming a part of the NASW STEP Program. NASW wishes to pair students and professionals

to build connections, contribute to the profession’s

knowledge base, and train competent, engaged social workers

in order to preserve the momentum of Social Work now

and in the future.

If you are interested, please contact

Rachal Hatton, LMSW, Central Unit Board Representative:

rachalh@gmail.com,

or

Stacy A Brice, MSW Student - stacyabrice@yahoo.com.