Communicating with Members of Congress: A Workshop on Grassroots Advocacy

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Communicating with Members of Congress A
Workshop on Grassroots Advocacy

• Laura Allendorf
• AGS Washington Representative
• Susan Emmer
• AGS Washington Representative
• November 18, 2004

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Why is Grassroots Advocacy so Important?

• Politically active members help advance the
  associations legislative agenda on Capitol Hill.
• Members of Congress rely on input from geriatric
  health professionals to educate them on
  aging-related issues.
• Letters, visits, and phone calls from
  constituents help the staff and lawmaker develop
  their positions, decide whether to cosponsor a
  bill, and determine how they vote on a particular
  issue.
• Lawmakers ultimately are accountable to the
  constituents who elect them.

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Why Should I Care About the Legislative Process?

• Geriatric health professionals depend heavily on
  Medicare for revenue.
• Medicare is the benchmark for almost every
  private health plan.
• Congress sets the NIH budget and the amount of
  money available for grants.
• Appropriations Committees earmark funds for
  your institutions for specific projects fund
  geriatric training programs, geriatric academic
  career awards, and geriatric education centers
  and fund VA programs.
• Your institutions depend on federal financing of
  graduate medical education.

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How is Health Policy Made in Congress?

• Majority party sets the agenda.
• House and Senate leaders play influential role in
  determining priorities.
• Due to the high volume and complexity of its
  work, Congress divides itself into committees and
  subcommittees, which play a critical role in the
  legislative process.
• Committee and subcommittees hold hearings on
  issues to hear testimony from government
  officials, outside experts, and affected interest
  groups.
• AGS has been invited to testify several times
  over the past several years.
• Subcommittees/Committees consider legislation in
  markup sessions, where they vote on bills.
• Once a bill is approved or reported out of
  committee, there is little opportunity to change
  it on the Senate or House floor, so favorable
  committee consideration is key.

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Which House Committees Have Jurisdiction Over
Health Issues?

• Appropriations Committee
• Labor, Health and Human Services and
  Education Subcommittee
• Ways and Means Committee
• Health Subcommittee
• Energy and Commerce Committee
• Health Subcommittee

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Key Senate Committees

• Appropriations Committee (Labor HHS Subcommittee)
• Finance Committee
• Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP)
• Aging

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How Can COSAR Get Involved?

• Join AGS Key Contact Program
• Write your member of Congress in support of AGSs
  legislative priorities.
• Compete for AGS Public Policy Award. (CA
  Geriatrics Society 2004 winner)
• Visit your lawmakers and/or their health staffers
  in Washington or in their district offices.
• Invite your legislators to speak at a meeting of
  your state affiliate or medical society.
• Invite your legislators and members of their
  staff to visit your office or clinic.
• Attend/host political fundraisers for your member
  of Congress.

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AGS Resources

• Congressional Visits Program, May 2002
• Key Contact Alerts
• AGS website posts congressional testimony and
  letters to federal agencies
• Online legislative newsletter
• Guide to Communicating with Members of Congress
• Sample letters

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Writing to Members of Congress

• One of the most effective ways you can
  communicate with your elected representatives.
• Your letters help educate lawmakers about your
  specialty and build support for AGSs legislative
  agenda.
• Personalizing AGS sample letters with specific
  information on the state of geriatric care in
  your area is especially effective.

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Visiting Members of Congress

• Personal meetings are the most effective means of
  political communication.
• Send request to scheduler.
• Designate a spokesperson to lead the discussion
  if with a group.
• Be prepared.
• Be brief and concise.
• Avoid medical jargon.
• Explain what it is that you do.
• Be specific in stating what you want your
  lawmaker to do, e.g., please cosponsor the
  Geriatric Care Act, please avert more cuts in
  Medicare reimbursement.

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Yes, Grassroots Advocacy Really Works!

• Visits and letters from AGS members result in
  more members of Congress to signing on as
  cosponsors of the Geriatric Care Act.
• After hearing from AGS members and affiliates
  last year, Congress averted additional cuts in
  the physician update for FY 2004 and 2005.
• Letters from state affiliates build support for
  Title VII geriatric health professions program.

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108th Congressional Update

• ELECTION RESULTS
• Both the House and Senate health care committees
  will reorganize, adding new members Republicans
  remain the majority party.
• While there could be a new HHS Secretary and
  reshuffling within HHS, the general direction of
  recent health policy reforms will not change.
• STATUS OF KEY LEGISLATION
• The AGS sought key legislative changes during the
  108th Congress and made progress in each of the
  three major areas Medicare payment and GME
  changes, the physician update and geriatric
  health professions.
• The MMA included two AGS sought provisions from
  the Geriatric and Chronic Care Management Act
  (1) a four-site physician care management
  demonstration and (2) geriatrics GME relief for
  2nd year fellowship program funding.

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108th Congressional Update Continued

• The AGS was part of a larger Coalition that
  worked for relief from Medicare fee schedule
  reductions based on the update. The MMA included
  a 1.5 increase in the update due to these
  efforts.
• The AGS worked to increase geriatric health
  professions (GACA/geriatric fellowships/GEC)
  funding. Due to our efforts, Congress is
  expected to maintain level funding for this
  program most other comparable programs were
  dramatically reduced by Congress this year.
• LOOKING AHEAD TO 109TH CONGRESS
• Congress may reopen the MMA for technical
  corrections that could include Medicare rate
  reductions, pursue Medicaid reforms such as block
  grants to states, consider liability reforms, and
  debate providing tax credits to the uninsured.

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AGS Agenda for 109th Congress

• The AGS will focus on four areas for advocacy for
  the 109th Congress.
• (1) Medicare reimbursement changes based on the
  Geriatric and Chronic Care Management Act.
• (2) Short and long term resolution of the
  physician fee update problem.
• (3) Including geriatrics on the agenda for the
  2005 White House Conference on the Aging.
• (4) Maintaining funding for the geriatric health
  professions program.
• We will provide handouts on the first 3 advocacy
  areas and utilize these in the grassroots section
  of this program.

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Role playing

• Conduct role playing around 2 advocacy areas
  Geriatric and Chronic Care Management Act and
  physician update.
• Following role playing, allow for audience
  critique and question and answer to determine the
  most effective role playing.