Election-Year Opportunity Is Knocking

During an election season — and this is a big one — candidates and the press all have their ears to the ground, listening for the footsteps of the Big Issues.

So this is a good time to remember that health care is a huge, chronic concern to Americans, and home care figures as a vital factor in the policy, economics and politics of health care in America.

The big reimbursement issues, which the home care community is tackling from many angles, may not be resolved in 2004. But there are plenty of urgent reasons and important opportunities to remind Congress that these issues make a big difference in the lives of patients, caregivers and the businesses that serve them.

Here is the logic — whether we have immediate resolution to these issues or not, all members of Congress must understand who we are and what we are about. Let’s put the message in a nutshell: Home care improves the lives of millions of Americans who are receiving patient-preferred, clinically proven and cost-effective treatment.

Ours is an industry that should be encouraged to grow and innovate. It is not in the public or the patient’s interest when Washington creates policies that threaten access to home care and cause the industry to cut back and restrict delivery of therapies.

Home care providers and manufacturers should think of themselves as grasstops leaders of real grassroots power, and use that power to make sure candidates and the press hear the footsteps of the millions of lives touched by home care. Does this mean you have to endorse candidates in every race? No. Does it mean home care is a part of the dialog? Yes, absolutely. Here are a few approaches:

Reward home care champions

First, let’s make sure that people who have gone on record as home care champions get the recognition they deserve. Support them in every way you can. Make it public. Send them letters of support when they cosponsor key legislation such as H.R. 4491, which would repeal the DME reimbursement cuts in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Share these letters with your local newspapers or via press releases explaining why this is important to your local community.

Nurture new champions

Give elected officials a reason to cosponsor a bill or join a home care cause by putting a human face on the issue. How many patients and families in your state or congressional district are served by home care or receive a specific therapy? How many employees work for home care businesses in the district? Cite specific people and the difference that home care makes in their lives. Invite them to tour your facilities or to picnic with your patients. Emphasize how important it is that the needs of home care are recognized in Congress.

Insert the issue into the election dialog

Make sure home care issues are visible. For instance, mention the key issues at town hall meetings held by members of Congress. Discuss home care issues as important considerations in the choice of candidates in your public communications. Invite the press to get to know what’s at stake in your community if access to home care is cut back because of reduced reimbursements.

Follow up and follow through

Championing home care in Washington is a process that continues as long as there is home care and as long as there is a Congress. If possible, become a resource on home care issues for the health care legislative aide for your member of Congress.

These are the types of strategies that home care providers and manufacturers of all sizes can use in the months leading up to — and following — the fall elections.

Kay Cox is president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare, Alexandria, Va. For more information about AAHomecare, visit www.aahomecare.org, or call 703/836-6263.