New Bill Focuses on Elevating Community Health Workers

Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced the Community Health Worker Access Act, a new bill proposing crucial investments in the community health worker (CHW) workforce to improve health care access. The CHW Access Act seeks to improve Medicare reimbursement for CHWs and support integration into Medicaid by providing reimbursement and creating an optional Medicaid benefit, incentivized by an enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), to cover preventative services and address social needs of patients being assisted by CHWs. CHWs are critical in their role and impact on the healthcare delivery system. Inadequate and unstable funding looks to jeopardize the strides made by these essential workers. The National Association of Community Health Workers and Partners in Health – US have put together a Social Media Toolkit with unbranded, shareable social media messages, and graphics to uplift the bill.