How to Lobby Congress to Help Your Industry
If you are an HME provider, you must know how to make animpact on your Senators and Representative. The industry is in a fight for itslife against various policies being implemented by the Centers for Medicare& Medicaid Services (CMS) that have reduced funding for HME providers,diminished patient access to healthcare, and are poised to reduce quality ofcare and choice for Medicare beneficiaries, as well.
The key issues are competitive bidding, the oxygen rentalcap, oxygen reform, and the complex rehab carve out. Providers must understandwhy policies such as competitive bidding are bad for the industry andproviders. Moreover, they must be able to argue why they are bad for thenation’s healthcare infrastructure and will ultimately cost tax payers more byincreasing hospital stays, which are much greater financial burden on theoverall Medicare budget.
Remember the key message points. Make sure that the messagepoints you deliver will have an impact on legislators. For instance, the36-month oxygen rental cap and competitive bidding are bad for patients becausethey limit access to care, can create risky situations when it comes to issuessuch as rural healthcare, and in the case of competitive bidding, will shutterthousands of small businesses and put tens of thousands of their employees andpartners out of work.
Always have an “ask.” Going into a legislative meeting witha list of complaints is not the way you want to lobby Congress. You need to askthem to do something, which is typically referred to as an “ask.” For instance,ask your House Representative to support the HOPP Act, or to pressure CMS tosuspend competitive bidding, or to add the NOC’s oxygen reform to anyhealthcare reform legislation that is introduced into Congress. You must givethem a job to do.
Follow up. When you do meet with your Congress member orstaff, don’t leave it at the meeting. Your job is not yet over. Follow up withthem after a reasonable amount of time to see if they have made a decision ortaken action on your “ask.” Don’t feel you are badgering them, they are used toit, and often their “workflow” depends on your follow-up, because if you don’t,then they might consider that lack of follow-up to mean the issue is off thetable, or unimportant.
Know the players. Identify your House member and your twosenators, as well as their staff. (See learn more.) They should get to know youand you should try to be as helpful and cordial as you can when dealing withthem. Be a provider of information that helps them make public policydecisions.
Also, make sure that you are involved with your national andstate industry associations. They will help keep you on top of the latestissues and will often provide you with materials that you can use in yourlobbying efforts. They will also host events both locally and on the Hill toadvocate the industry, and you will want to be part of those events.
Don’t be afraid of staff. While there are some very hands-onmembers of Congress, they often delegate to their staff. Staff are the eyes andears of the Congress members. But walking into a congressional office, whetherin Washington or at their local district can feel intimidating. Don’t worry.Just remember that there is a very good chance that staffer is even moreintimidated. You’re the expert and that can be daunting to them.
Ally with patients and patient groups. Forge strongrelationships with your patients and enlist their support in lobbying yourcongress members. Moreover, get to know patient groups such as AARP and BetterBreathers, for example, and see how can work with them to strengthen yourlobbying efforts.
Get to know your Representative. Whenever your House membercomes back to your district, make an effort to attend the same events and usethem as an opportunity to introduce yourself. Your Representative meets a lotof people, so you need to continually reintroduce yourself until they finallyknow you by name.
Host a site visit. When you feel you have established a goodbond with your Representative, invite them to your provider business for a sitevisit. Demonstrate the lengths to which you go in order to provide top-qualitycare to your patients. More to the point, have some of your patients present atthe site visit so that they can share their stories as to why your services arecritical to them, and why those services need to be protected. If you can’t getyour member of Congress to come, then invite his or her staff that are based inthe district.
Help lawmakers shine. If you can create a public event andget local press outlets to cover it, make sure to invite your Congress membersand their staff. Let them know how many of their constituents will attend, andwhat press outlets will be there. If they do attend, give them an opportunityto stand out at the event, and hopefully deliver a small address. Then followthe event with more press releases that tout the Congress member’sparticipation in the event in the hopes of getting more coverage, If there isany way you can help your member make some political hay, they will value yourinput and see you — and homecare — as an important ally.
Points to take away:
- Identify your state Senators and House Representative, andget to know their staff.
- Be a provider of useful policy-making information, andalways have a solid request when lobbying.
- Always follow up meetings to ensure you get what you want.
- Try to host a site visit that your Congress members canattend. Also, try to help them by creating an opportunity for them to gainfavorable press coverage.
This article originally appeared in the July 2009 issue of HME Business.