Leading the Charge

“Here in Washington, we encourage everyone to speak with one voice by ensuring all of our efforts are focused on one message,” according to Kay Cox, president of the Alexandria, Va.-based American Association for Homecare. And, she says, she intends for that home care message to be heard.

Immediately after stepping into her new role on June 1, Cox was faced with leading the charge against proposed Medicare reform measures — competitive bidding, copayment of the home health benefit — that she labels as “very harmful to home care patients and providers.” Though at press time the legislation was stalled in conference committee, the association continues to press the home care cause with a concerted national lobbying effort and a companion grassroots campaign.

Cox has met with congressional members about a variety of issues affecting home health care, and association representatives have criss-crossed the country rallying members.

“With our members and our patients as our focus, we’ve been doing everything we possibly can to fight the threat that Congress presents to home care,” says Cox.

With more than 20 years in the health care industry, Cox most recently served as vice president of the Washington office and political action committee of Beverly Enterprises, a $2.4 billion company that operates skilled nursing facilities in 26 states. She previously was president and CEO of a health care consulting group that advised national health care providers on public policy issues and, in addition, has coordinated federal contracts with several government agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Labor and the Veteran’s Administration.

“The Capitol Hill environment is unlike any other business,” Cox says. “To succeed here, you have to know the players, you have to know the process on how to get things done, and you also need to cultivate partnerships with national associations so you have strong allies in Washington. This is something I’ve been doing for years.”

Cox says AAHomecare is “continuing [its] efforts with CAMSET (Coalition for Access to Medical Services, Equipment and Technology) as well as other advocacy groups to make sure that congressional members hear from patients about the care that’s given to them and how important it is. We are also working with patient groups to have a voice with different committees on the House and Senate side.”

After this immediate legislative crisis, Cox plans to elevate home care’s visibility both inside and outside the beltway. “I think AAHomecare has had a wonderful voice for home care, especially for its membership, but now I think we have to take the association a step further in making sure we represent our members at a higher level in Washington and nationwide” with government agencies, policymakers and the media, Cox says.

On the national level, “we have several projects we will launch next year to raise the visibility of home care,” she continues, “and we will be partnering with many national health care associations in that effort … so that we reach out to everyone who has a stake in home care. We plan to use our relationship with like-minded groups to become a leading force in Washington for home care.”

Part of Cox’s strategy to raise awareness includes stepped-up communication. The association has temporarily opened the “members only” section of its Web site, www.aahomecare.org, “to encourage and educate everyone about the battle on Capitol Hill,” Cox explains. “I believe all Americans should be concerned about health care, especially our nation’s seniors, and we didn’t want to exclude anyone from [the information available] on the site.”

The move increased traffic to the site by 50,000 hits over one month, but Cox notes that “once the crisis is over and resolved, then we will reinstate the password protection” for the members’ area.

Membership is one issue critical to the association’s success, and the drive to increase association involvement continues. Currently, annual dues hover at $995 for businesses with revenue of $1 million and less; the price goes up for concerns in higher revenue brackets. Cox encourages small providers to talk with other members about AAHomecare’s benefits.

“I can understand the hardships of the small provider, but I would hope the benefits would outweigh the cost to the small providers,” she says.

While the association represents both home medical equipment manufacturers and providers, Cox points out that another part of its communication effort involves getting the message out about the consumers who benefit from home care services. “Providers are not in health care to make money. They’re in it to serve patients,” she says.

“Our association’s job is to ensure that the regulatory and legislative environment is very, very supportive and not punitive so that our members can focus on what they do best, which is providing high quality care and medical equipment and services to those beneficiaries.”

For more information about AAHomecare, visit www.aahomecare.org, or call 703/836 – 6263. If you would like to become more involved in the association’s grassroots lobbying campaign, contact Seth Johnson or Penelope Solis at the same phone number.