News & Information for NYS Council Members

October 15, 2023

SAMHSA’s Gains Center recently posted a new solicitation for applications to develop trauma-informed capacity.  There is an informational webinar scheduled for 10/25.  Here’s more:https://www.prainc.com/gains-ccommunity-ttt-2024/?utm_source=Internal&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GAINSTTT2024

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Queens Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas has reintroduced legislation to eliminate a social worker testing requirement that has been considered both challenging and biased against people of color.

We will discuss the legislation during our next Thursday morning NYS Council Public Policy & Member Support call on 10/19 at 9:15.
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While the Administration recently announced that Social Security payments to beneficiaries will increase by 3.2% for 2024, some Republicans on the Hill are determined to make major cuts to entitlement programs.  The House Republican Majority is now formally moving ahead with developing plans to slash spending on “mandatory programs” (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) via a “special commission” that will take place behind closed doors, and then Congress will fast track its recommendations.  As you may recall, Former House Speaker McCarthy called for a commission right after the bipartisan debt default deal was enacted in June, and then tried to include it in the first “Continuing Resolution” (to avoid a federal government shutdown)  that failed last month.

There will be a House Budget Committee hearing on creating a debt commission this Thursday, 10/19.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4252761-white-house-gop-social-security-cuts_speaker/

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Sen. Bernie Sanders is the latest federal legislator with nonprofit hospitals’ tax breaks in his crosshairs. The HELP Committee chairman is calling on Congress and the IRS to strengthen oversight of hospitals’ community benefit and charity care spending.

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Here’s coverage of a recent event hosted by City & State that was focused on New York’s 1115 waiver and specifically, the proposals to develop social care networks and revamp plans to implement value-based care

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/innovations-value-based-care-conference-city-state-ny

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The National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s Center for Workforce Solutions invites you to apply for a new virtual learning opportunity: Addressing the Workforce Crisis ECHO! This free, nine-month ECHO will bring together mental health and substance use treatment provider organizations, state associations and national experts for a series of peer-to-peer discussions. Through this collaborative, participating organizations will identify and explore innovative and scalable workforce solutions and be supported as they implement solutions to address their workforce challenges. By participating in the Workforce ECHO, you will:

  • Deepen your understanding of the workforce crisis in six core areas (regulatory, policy, payment, clinical models, workforce expansion, quality and accountability).
  • Identify and discuss scalable solutions to address the current workforce shortage within your communities.
  • Gather useful information, guidance and support from other participating organizations and national experts to identify solutions for addressing the workforce crisis.
  • Begin to implement innovative solutions as part of an overall plan to address the workforce crisis. 
 Learn More and Apply!

Here’s how New York Medicaid plans to bring social care networks and revamp its value-based payment program