BOWOW Act

House Bill

H.R. 4638

119th Congress

BOWOW Act

Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 12.

Introduced:Jul 23, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Danny K. Davis

Representative

Democratic

IL-7

Cosponsors

2

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Health

Summary

The BOWOW Act would allow clinical social workers to provide more types of health services under Medicare, rather than just those related to mental illness. This would expand the role of social workers in healthcare settings and give patients more options for the kinds of services they can receive.

Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

SponsorDanny K. Davis (D-IL)

Introduced7/23/2025

StatusOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 12.

ChamberHouse

Data from Congress.gov

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Vote Prediction

BOWOW Act

The BOWOW Act would allow clinical social workers to provide more types of health services under Medicare, rather than just those related to mental illness. This would expand the role of social workers in healthcare settings and give patients more options for

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

The BOWOW Act would allow clinical social workers to provide more types of health services under Medicare, rather than just those related to mental illness. This would expand the role of social workers in healthcare settings and give patients more options for the kinds of services they can receive.

Bill Number: 4638
Sponsor: Danny K. Davis (D-IL)
Introduced: 7/23/2025
Status: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 12.
Policy Area: Health

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: BOWOW Act
Bill Number: 4638
Sponsor: Danny K. Davis (D-IL)
Status: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 18 - 12.
Introduced: 7/23/2025
Summary: The BOWOW Act would allow clinical social workers to provide more types of health services under Medicare, rather than just those related to mental illness. This would expand the role of social workers in healthcare settings and give patients more options for the kinds of services they can receive.

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

The BOWOW Act would allow clinical social workers to provide more types of health services under Medicare, rather than just those related to mental illness. This would expand the role of social workers in healthcare settings and give patients more options for the kinds of services they can receive.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Integrating Social Workers Across Health Care Settings ActThis bill expands the scope of services that may be performed by clinical social workers under Medicare. Specifically, the bill allows clinical social workers to furnish any services that they are authorized to furnish under state law, rather than only services that relate to diagnosing or treating mental illnesses.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Allows clinical social workers to provide any services they are authorized to provide under state law, not just those related to mental illness diagnosis and treatment
Expands the types of health services that Medicare can cover when provided by clinical social workers
Aims to increase the role of social workers in healthcare settings and give patients more choices for their care

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

If passed, this bill would affect Medicare patients by giving them more options to receive a wider range of health services from clinical social workers. It could also lead to more social workers being integrated into healthcare teams and increase access to social services for vulnerable patient populations.