Issued 9/4/09
Rolling Out the Big Guns Redux – Obama to Address Nation and Joint Session of Congress on National Health Reform
The eyes of the nation – and those of health care lobbyists everywhere – will be on President Barack Obama Wednesday night September 9th when he is set to deliver a rare Joint Session address to the U.S. Congress on the issue of national health reform. The President’s nationwide address, which is expected to be televised live, will likely constitute the most important event to date, in what has thus far proven to be a tortured path towards enactment of a sweeping national reform bill – one far more difficult than the White House estimated it would be, even as recently as July.
Facing a growingly skeptical nation, with large numbers of citizens harboring serious doubts regarding the need to enact a comprehensive reform bill, the President went on the offensive in August, participating in a series of largely orchestrated “town hall” meetings, where he attempted to counter reform critics and reignite momentum behind a major reform effort. Most observers believe the President’s August foray outside of the Washington “beltway” into the “heartland” of the nation in order to sell the health reform issue to have been a failure. Accordingly to recent polling data over half of Americans disapprove of the President’s handling of the reform issue, up from a 39% disapproval rating in June. Hence, the President is now forced to once again attempt to seize the initiative and to somehow reframe the debate in a positive and convincing way, if he expects to enact a significant reform bill this year.
Will the President’s address next week be a turning point in the debate? The White House clearly hopes so – and while the details of the President’s remarks are unknown at this time, the ACA believes President Obama must come to the table with a very specific list of priorities to which he needs to insist that Congress address. In the view of ACA’s Government Relations Department, the President has been far too vague in outlining his specific goals for reform, and that the President’s previous, largely general statements in favor of reform, have actually served to undermine the effort. So, the stakes are clearly high for next Wednesday night.
If the President can clearly and convincing articulate a short list of key priority provisions that he insists be enacted by Congress, he may be able to successfully jump-start the reform process. While our crystal ball here remains fractured, many pundits believe the President will back-away from the controversial “Public Plan” issue, in favor of a series of consumer-friendly insurance market reforms that could garner wide-spread support. Clearly, the President’s reputation as an effective and progressive leader is “one the line” – and the ACA’s GR Department believes the President will pull out all stops to enact a legislative package of reforms before year end. With some “recalibration” of the issue on the horizon, the ACA will be, along with other health-related organizations, carefully watching for major strategic shifts in the direction of health reform and will be prepared to respond accordingly.
Support Still Sought for Provider Non-Discrimination Issue:
The ACA is continuing its efforts to garner the signatures of House Democrats onto a “Dear Colleague” letter being circulated by Representative Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) a strong chiropractic supporter in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Braley letter, which is addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), urges that any final national health reform bill to be enacted by Congress: 1) preserve state-enacted provider non-discrimination laws; 2) include a federal provider non-discrimination provision applicable to any insurance plan established or regulated by the new legislation. Braley’s effort is being undertaken as a direct result of lobbying by the ACA, the American Optometric Association (AOA) and groups participating the PARCA Coalition, a group of non-MD provider organizations originally founded by the ACA to support enactment of a Patients Bill of Rights in the 1990’s.
The federal non-discrimination provision sought by the ACA and PARCA organizations is aimed at preventing health insurance plans from discriminating against providers in terms of participation and reimbursement in health plans, based simply on their licensure and scope of practice. Preservation of similar state enacted provider and consumer protections, plus the adoption of a federal non-discrimination provision remains a top priority of the ACA in context of the enactment of a comprehensive national health reform bill. ACA’s GR Department warns that preservation of state-enacted non-discrimination provisions and similar laws could become an even more critical issue especially if President Obama scales back his health reform plan, to place more emphasis on allowing individuals and companies to purchase health insurance “across state lines.”
The deadline for obtaining Democrat House Member signatories to the Braley letter is now set to expire COB September 4th – however, the ACA is hopeful the deadline will be extended to allow more time to garner an impressive number of signatories onto the letter. In a conference call held with state chiropractic associations Thrusday September 3rd, the ACA again urged all state chiropractic associations to swing into action in support of the effort to persuade House Democrats to sign onto the Braley letter. Recipients of this update bulletin should contact their Member of the U.S. House if he/she is a Democrat and urge they sign onto the Braley non-discrimination letter.
Please click here for a copy of ACA’s Alert Bulletin (self-explanatory) and to review the text of the Braley letter.
ACA “ChiroVoice” Patient Database Delivers over 50,000 Pro-Chiropractic Messages to Congress – But More Action Needed
ACA’s effort to construct and activate a national database of chiropractic patient e-mail addresses, a project known as ChiroVoice, continues to move forward with positive resuslts. Over the course of this summer, ChiroVoice and ACA’s Legislative Action Center to which the project is linked, has recorded over 50,000 messages in support of chiropractic priority issues that have been relayed to Congress. While this data clearly reflects significant growth of the project, and demonstrates that chiropractic patients can be effectively mobilized via electronic means, much additional support and work to expand the program remains to be done. Outgunned financially, by the insurance industry, organized medicine, and insurance interests, the ACA is firmly attempting to “level the playing field” and score a victory for the chiropractic profession by mobilizing patients, and ACA officials say ChiroVoice is the most effective tool available for that purpose. ACA officials warn, however, that the vast majority of DCs have not yet started to support the project and have failed to begin the process of collecting chiropractic patient e-mail address data and relay the information to ACA’s HQ, where the ChiroVoice database is maintained.
On a conference call with state chiropractic associations September 3, 2009, ACA officials emphasized:
1. Support for ChiroVoice is vital – and the best way the profession has to match the firepower and influence of larger, better funded players in the health reform debate.
2. The ChiroVoice technology is now “proven” with over 50,000 pro-chiropractic messages documented.
3. The profession has only scratched the surface with respect to the potential size and usefulness of the database.
4. All DCs need to participate on a regular basis in the project.
5. The ChiroVoice database is confidential and patient e-mail addresses are only used for patient education and grassroots purposes – and that no commercial use of the database will be allowed.
6. Participating in the project is simple, easy and free – requiring only a modest “sweat equity” investment on behalf of a DC and/or his office staff.
REMEMBER: Patient mobilization can’t take place if you are a “sideliner” – sitting on the bench and not supporting your profession’s patient mobilization campaign. It remains extremely important that DCs continue to support and participate in the CHIROVOICE project to construct and activate a national database of chiropractic patients, via their e-mail addresses.
There is no reason to delay – and every reason for you to get involved with this important project today if you have not already done so. Go to this link for all the information you need to support the development and activation of this important patient-centered lobbying resource.
These ACA Legislative Related Resources Are Available for You Free of Charge:
To learn more about ChiroVoice and how to participate in the project go to this link.
To access ACA’s grassroots “Toolkit” go here.
To send a pro-chiropractic message of support to Congress, go toACA’s ChiroVoice Legislative Action Center.
To view ACA’s most recent Video Legislative Update Report go here.
Lastly, please remember the importance of your grassroots support for your profession. Use the tools that have been constructed by the ACA to help you lead our profession to victory with respect to the critical issue of National Health Reform. Don’t delay – act now!
If you have any questions please contact us at gr@acatoday.org
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