A Social Work Response to the Affordable Care Act: Prevention and Early Intervention

ABSTRACT

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act represents a reinvestment in primary care, with a focus on prevention of illness and remediation of the impacts of chronic diseases through a behavioral health framework. Licensed social work professionals, specifically those trained in behavioral health, are a natural fit to help implement these new approaches. Though there are many evidence-based interventions that will be helpful, two that come from the field of substance abuse ought to be specifically beneficial: SAMHSA’s SBIRT Model and Motivational Interviewing, developed by Miller and Rollnick. In response to the growing need for specially trained social work practitioners, the Social Work Program at Seton Hall University has developed the initial concentration of its MSW Program around these learning needs.

KEYWORDS:

• Affordable Care Act
• behavioral health
• healthcare reform
• social work curriculum