Social Work Participation in Accountable Care Organizations under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Abstract

Little is known about social workers employed in accountable care organizations (ACOs) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Because no listing of these social workers exists, the authors distributed a survey through Listservs likely to be read by health social workers, including Listservs of the National Association of Social Workers and of three large health social work organizations. The 17-item survey asked about characteristics of social workers employed by ACOs, their roles within the organizations, and the characteristics of ACOs that employ social workers. One hundred sixty-seven of 395 of those responding were employed by an ACO. The vast majority held an MSW degree and had several years of experience in health care. Most ACOs employed 10 or fewer social workers, and most of those were supervised by non–social workers. The authors suggest the need for training in how to promote health social work to other health care professionals.