The week of April 11th-14th nearly twenty TAHC&H members traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for home care and hospice. They met with 38 offices on Capitol Hill representing Senate and Congressional Districts in Texas. Top issues included advocating for a permanent solution to face-to-face for Medicare providers and fighting a proposal to institute a prior authorization for Medicare home health services in Texas.
Capitol Hill was incredibly busy and hallways were filled with other advocates pushing their issues. TAHC&H has a long history on the Hill, built through years of grassroots volunteerism and political outreach, and Congressional offices were welcoming. We even made the social media pages for Congressman Burgess, Chairman Thornberry, Congressman Farenthold and Congressman Kenny Marchant!
TAHC&H has been working intensively with our national associations on a solution to face-to-face, championed now by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) is prepared to introduce legislation to tackle face-to-face as soon as the home care industry can collect critical data on the back-log of appeals. After the legislation is introduced, the next challenge will be finding an appropriate legislative vehicle as few bills pass Congress unless they are part of a package.
All of our members are highly encouraged to do outreach to their members of Congress at home by calling the district offices and setting up appointments. Our federal priorities can be found here. View photos of the week on facebook!
TAHC&H members with Rep. Burgess (left) and Rep. Doggett (right) in Washington DC this week.