Newsletters

Director Liz Matney Continuous Coverage Unwind There has been quite a bit of national coverage on this  IME is still awaiting guidance from CMS.  There may be some adjustments made to the unwind.  IME did anticipate higher rate of disenrollments in the first few months, as that is when the folks who were flagged as potentially ineligible were disenrolled.  Please encourage clients to re-enroll during the 90 day grace period so they have no coverage gap.  This is preferable than going through an appeals process.  IME is aware of the back up in services that we are facing for behavioral health an...

Read More

The NASW Task Force for Clinical Social Work Practice Standards is asking for your feedback on the draft NASW Standards for Clinical Social Workers in Social Work Practice. The draft offers guidance to clinical social workers in all clinical settings and serves as a benchmark for the services they provide. The public comment period ends September 15, 2023. Please use this form to provide your feedback along with your professional background. The Revised Clinical Standards are attached to the form. Questions? Please email cswstandards@socialworkers.org.

Read More

Individual provider mental health reimbursement rate increases Can you give mental health providers any idea on a timeline that the increased rates will be release? Or any ideas on the procedure codes that will be effected? Informational letter should be going out next week (week of 7-31-23).  There was some sort of an “unintended consequence” with the community mental health centers that needs to be resolved first. Receiving the increased mental health provider reimbursement rate retroactively In order to automatically receive the increased reimbursement rates, you do need to bill for an amount that is higher tha...

Read More

ICYMI: The videos featuring Sharine Conner LISW, IADC (now Webster), NASW Iowa 2021 Social Worker of Excellence & Debra Carr, LMSW, NASW Iowa Catherine G. Williams 2021 Diversity Lifetime Achievement Awardee were bestowed a 2023 Award of Achievement for Corporate Internal Communications by the Iowa Motion Picture Association. Special thanks to Eric Benson & Kevin Thorn with Bus-Stop Productions for producing these videos!   View the videos here: https://naswia.socialworkers.org/News/Iowa-Award-Winners or on the NASW Iowa YouTube Channel

Read More

The NASW Iowa Chapter CEU event "Demystifying the Eating Disorder:  Understanding Signs, Symptoms & Treatment" originally scheduled for Fri. 7-21-23 has been postponed due to a medical emergency in the presenter’s family.  More details to follow on how we will refund and/or re-register those of you who purchased a CEU certificate.  We will attempt to reschedule this event far enough out so you can fit it into your schedule. We apologize for this inconvience and thank you for using NASW Iowa Chapter for your CEU needs. 

Read More

A Quick recap of the IME Townhall meeting for providers on 6-22-23 Medicaid reimbursement rates for individual mental health providers increases Approximately 30 individual mental health provider (clinical social workers, psychologists and behavioral health providers) billing codes will be increased by 56.57%. Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) is working on a letter that will include all of the specific billing codes that they will send out to providers. The rate increase will be effective starting 7-1-23 – with 2 caveats: IME does have to file an amendment to the State Medicaid Plan, which has to be approved by the Cente...

Read More

Iowa Medicaid Enterprise Providers Town Hall Meeting Thurs. 6-22-23 4 pm to 5 pm Agenda includes new Provider Rates! PCA presentation Mental Health therapy rates Substance Use Disorder rates; Update on discretionary $3M for Mental Health Also on the agenda:  Molina Go-Live o HSAG readiness findings and mitigations Molina will have in place for more information go to: https://hhs.iowa.gov/ime/about/advisory-groups/townhall  

Read More

NASW Iowa Chapter members eligible to vote in Chapter elections will receive an email to the email address they have on file with NASW with the link to the electronic ballot. The first email is scheduled to go out around 4 pm CT, 6-7-23. Voting will end at 7:30 am, Central Time, on Tuesday, 6-27-23. To see a list of candidates and their platform statements go to https://naswia.socialworkers.org/About/Board-of-Directors If you would prefer to vote on a paper ballot, please contact the NASW Iowa Chapter 515-277-1117

Read More

During today's Iowa Medicaid town hall for providers, to IME Director Liz Matney stated that the Medicaid rate increases will be effective 7-1-23. They hope to have those rates ready for public announcement mid-June.  New rates might not be loaded into the system by 7-1-23, but they will be retroactive.  The $7 million appropriated by the legislature for Medicaid reimbursement rate increases will be specifically for mental health therapists.  Their goal is to get Iowa Medicaid rates to at least 85% of the benchmark they were using.  The additional $3 M that we didn’t expect will also be for mental health, b...

Read More

Medicaid Town Hall Meeting for Providers Agenda items include: *** Rate Review Next Steps with Appropriation** Thurs. 5-25-23 4 pm to 5 pm Other Agenda Items: Medicaid Updates Continuous Coverage Update Molina Go-Live Open Discussion To learn more and to register go to https://hhs.iowa.gov/ime/about/advisory-groups/townhall

Read More

NASW Iowa Chapter is one of the more than 170 organizations and individuals that have signed on to a joint statement Recognizing March 31, 2023 as Transgender Day Of Visibility.   Joint Statement: Iowans Recognize Transgender Day Of Visibility More than 170 issue joint statement supporting transgender Iowans   Today a coalition of more than one hundred and seventy Iowa community organizations, faith leaders, businesses, labor unions, and elected officials issued the following statement recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility, which takes place tomorrow, Friday, March 31st:   “Today we speak with ...

Read More

Meet NASW IA Chapter member Kaylee Martin. Kaylee is the BSW Board Representative to the NASW Iowa Chapter.    You’ve won the Lottery. It’s a lifechanging amount of money.                What would you do differently? I would purchase and donate social work textbooks to colleges around the country for students to use, create scholarships for college students in need, and would purchase items to donate (i.e. food, clothes, etc.) to those in need.               What would yo...

Read More

  How did you decide to go to social work school? I had always wanted to get into understanding human behavior, motivations and why some people do things others do not typically do. Once I understood that environment and circumstance has profound impact on our behavior, Social Work’s holistic perspective just made sense. If you could give one piece of advice to social work students, what would it be?   If you think you understand an issue, behavior or culture, you are wrong. Social Work is about life-long learning and immersion in different spaces, especially in areas we don’t inhabit in our personal live...

Read More

What led you to run for the NASW Iowa Chapter Board? I was asked to, but am grateful as I feel I can make a difference on a macro level as well as micro.   How did you decide to go to social work school? I had been introduced to “therapy” in a very tumultuous time in my life when I needed it, and decided that I wanted to give back somehow. Returning to school at age 40 was a challenge, and it “steered” me in this direction.   When did you realize that social work is the profession for you? When I started to find out how many different ways social workers can help people and what we can do...

Read More

  What led you to run for the NASW Iowa Chapter Board? The profession is only as strong as its members and their involvement in their professional organization therefore I have always been active in NASW. This is my second time on the NASW-IA board representing the NW branch and advocating for policies, programs, and recognition of the important role we play in rural Iowa.   How did you decide to go to social work school? While working in a non-profit organization serving adult with serious mental illness, my supervisor encouraged me to get my MSW. She provided guidance and support as I worked full-time and went to sc...

Read More