Homecare advocates storm Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 31, 2013—This year’s Washington Legislative Conference was a resounding success thanks to the more than 250 homecare advocates who made visits to Representatives and Senators. In all, advocates completed approximately 300 visits to Congressional offices. The visits had an immediate impact. By Friday afternoon, H.R. 1717 had 96 cosponsors and the Thompson-Braley letter to CMS asking for a delay implementing Round 2 had 45 additional signers. As of publication time, there are 65 signers.

Post-meeting follow-up is essential to cultivating relationships with members of Congress and their staff. Sent within a week of the initial meeting, a thorough but succinct follow-up will show that you are the go-to contact on the issue. Here are some items that you can include:
• Thank them for their time: Regardless of how well you thought the meeting went, this step is critical to making sure the member or staffer knows you are willing to work with them. Also, members and staffers often have many demands on their time and attention, so acknowledging their time just might be the key to getting them on your side.
• Additional information and answers: You should provide any information you promised during the meeting. You should also answer questions that are outstanding from the meeting; if you do not have a definitive answer to a question, let the member or staffer know that you are still researching and will get an answer to them as soon as possible.
• Clarification and reiteration: Include a succinct sentence or two outlining essential points from the meeting and reiterate “the ask,” that is, what you’ve asked them to do. New information should be included only if you feel it will help the member and staffer to understand and support your “ask.”
• What you can do for them: Offer to become their go-to contact on the issues, answer any questions that may come up, have another meeting, or help connect them with a beneficiary in the area. Also, offer AAHomecare as a Washington-based resource.
• Closing: Thank them again for their time.

Remember, any meeting that ends with the opportunity for continued conversation is a good meeting. If you have questions, contact AAHomecare’s Peter Rankin at 202-372-0755. To see photos from the Conference and Hill visits, go to the AAHomecare Album.