Virtual Lobby Campaign Reminder - Home Health
Posted over 13 years ago by Stanley F Whittaker
American College of Nurse Practitioners
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Virtual Lobby Campaign Reminder - Home Health October 6, 2011 |
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SPREAD THE WORD: HOME HEALTH "VIRTUAL LOBBY DAY" On Thursday, October 6, 2011, ACNP will join organizations representing the nation's nurse specialists in urging Congress to support S. 227/H.R. 2267, the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2011. On that day, thousands of nurse practitioners from across the country will participate in a "Virtual Capitol Hill Day" by contacting their Members of Congress and asking them to cosponsor this important bill.
PLAN NOW TO GET INVOLVED! By scheduling just a few minutes to take action, you can help us have a tremendous impact. Just follow the simple steps below.
Currently, nurse practitioners are not able to order home health care services despite the fact that physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse midwives are authorized Medicare providers. H.R. 2267/S. 227, the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2011, as introduced by Representatives Greg Walden and Allyson Schwartz in the House of Representatives and Senators Susan Collins and Kent Conrad in the Senate, recognizes and authorizes nurse practitioners as eligible health care professionals who can order home health services under Medicare, ensuring that Medicare patients requiring these services receive optimal continuity of care.
This bipartisan legislation already has the support of 46 Representatives and eight Senators this session - after winning endorsements from more than 120 members of Congress in the previous session of Congress. |
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Prepare Yourself Ahead of Time! You can take the following steps now to prepare for the action you'll take on October 6...
Step 1: Know your members of Congress. Can you identify your Representative and Senators? If not, go to www.senate.gov to find your Senators and www.house.gov to identify your Representative.
Step 2: Are your members of Congress already cosponsors? It's easy to find out:
If your Representative or Senators are already cosponsors of the Home Health Care Improvement Act, it is still important that you call or write to them to thank them for their support - more about this in Step 4 below.
Step 3: Plan your message. As a constituent, you can explain to your members of Congress and their staffers what a "nurse practitioner" is, describe your practice, and explain how this legislation will help you and other NPs ensure that patients with Medicare coverage get the home health services they need in a timely manner. Your experiences and perspective are critical to making your legislators understand how passage of this legislation will help their constituents and improve health care in the communities they represent in Congress.
You can use the following sample letter as a general guide for a phone conversation or an email: If you use the ANA website to send a personalized email to your members of Congress, ACNP suggests that you make the following changes to the text provided on the ANA website - and be sure to include a personal example of how your patients and practice would be affected if you are able to order Medicare home health services. |
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Message
Support APRNs and Home Health Patients! Dear [Decision Maker], I am writing to urge you to support the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act (S. 227/H.R.2267). Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are playing an increasing role in American health care delivery. Nurse practitioners (NPs), clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), and certified nurse midwives (CNMs) can prescribe medications and practice independent of physicians in most states. Studies have shown that APRNs provide cost-effective, high quality care. In addition, they are often willing to provide services in areas where access to physicians is limited. * Please personalize your message
Medicare has recognized the autonomous practice of nurse practitioners for nearly two decades, and NPs now coordinate the majority of skilled care to home health patients. Unfortunately, a quirk in Medicare law has kept nurse practitioners from signing home health plans of care and from certifying Medicare patients for the home health benefit. In areas where access to physicians is limited, this outdated prohibition has lead to delays in health care delivery. These delays in care inconvenience patients and their families. In addition, delays can also result in increased cost to the Medicare system when patients are unnecessarily left in more expensive institutional settings.[Insert personal story here: (i.e. I live in a rural area and don't have access to a physician to sign off on my order. / I have my own practice and don't have a relationship with a physician. / I have a patient who was not able to get the services she needed because of this law.)] As you know, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction will soon recommend a comprehensive proposal to cut our national deficit. Nurse practitioners can help by making the Medicare program more effective and cost-efficient - specifically by improving beneficiary access to appropriate home health care services. Please help me serve my patients and help them to access the Medicare services they need by cosponsoring this important legislation now, before the standing committees in the Senate and House submit their recommendations to the Deficit Reduction Committee on October 14. We need to know that you're with us in improving health care for Medicare patients. Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Address] [City, State ZIP] |
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Step 4: Thank those who are already cosponsors! If one or more of your members of Congress are already cosponsors of the bill it is still important to take a few minutes to say, "Thanks for being a leader on this important issue!" If your members of Congress agree to cosponsor the bill in the next few weeks and send you a note to let you know, pick up the phone and say thanks. We will continue to need their attention and support on many issues in the future, and saying thanks is a simple way to help build a positive relationship and let your legislators know their support is appreciated.
Take Action on October 6!
Both chambers of Congress will be in session in Washington on October 6 - barely a week before the committees with jurisdiction over Medicare make their recommendations to the deficit reduction "super committee." It is critically important for us to build support and have this important legislation included in the deficit reduction plan developed by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.On October 6, take time to contact your members of Congress, either by phone or email, and urge them to cosponsor the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2011, S. 227/H.R. 2267.
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