The U.S. House voted last Tuesday to approve a Republican-backed budget resolution. The 217-215 party line vote begins the reconciliation process in which the House and Senate must ultimately agree on a package to be signed by President Trump. A round up of relevant press coverage can be found here.
What’s at stake: Medicaid. Congressional Republicans must now reconcile the “skinny” $342 billion Senate package with the more wide-reaching $4.5 trillion package in the House. The House package calls for $880 billion in savings from the House Energy & Commerce Committee, which is a key committee for health care policy. A cut of this size cannot be achieved without cuts to the Medicaid program. Many options are on the table: work requirements, changes to the federal share of Medicaid funding, per capita caps to states, repeal of tax credits for plans purchased in the exchanged, or cuts to directed payment programs. Cuts of this kind will be devastating to patients, hospitals and our state government budget.
How you can help:
- Take action. As mentioned above, WSHA released an advocacy alert asking members in the 4th and 5th district to contact their congressman. We are also partnering on a public campaign for community members. Please share this opportunity widely. While we have targeted these districts, there is strength in numbers, and we will rely on all members for advocacy. The Democratic members of our delegation are ready to carry this message forward. (See this recent report from Senator Cantwell.)
- Meet with your legislator. Members of Congress will be back in their districts the week of March 17. If you would like assistance in reaching out to your member of Congress for an in-district meeting that week please reach out to Jacqueline Barton True at jacquelineb@wsha.org.
- Talk to your community and the press. Included in this message are talking points on the general impacts of Medicaid that you can use with your board, staff, community and local press.
- We are happy to help customize these points to your organization. If you would like help, please contact WSHA Communications Director Tim Pfarr at timp@wsha.org.
- If you are interested in writing a letter to the editor or meeting with your local editorial board, please contact WSHA Senior VP of Membership Engagement and Communications Beth Zborowski at bethz@wsha.org.
- Travel with WSHA to D.C. May 6-7. WSHA members and staff will travel to Washington, D.C. May 6-7 to advocate for hospitals. Please RSVP by completing this form.
WSHA’s Response: Working with member hospitals and industry partners, WSHA is embarking on a multi-pronged strategy aimed at Washington’s congressional delegation. Strategies include:
- Delegation meetings: WSHA members recently met in-district with Rep. Newhouse. We will be briefing the entire delegation on the importance of directed payment programs (known in Washington State as the SNAP program) on Tuesday, March 4. We will work to set additional meetings in the coming weeks in addition to traveling with member hospitals to D.C. May 6-7. Please RSVP by completing this form.
- Targeting key districts: The budget reconciliation process will be driven by Republican members of Congress. WSHA’s efforts will be largely targeted toward the Rep. Newhouse (4th District) and Rep. Baumgartner (5th District). We recently put out a call to action to members in the 4th and 5th districts.
- Targeted advertising and media: WSHA will place LinkedIn and Facebook ads in the 4th and 5th Congressional districts aimed at educating the public about the impact of cuts and providing ways to contact members of Congress. WSHA is also arranging letters to the editor, editorial board meetings and local press interviews on the importance of Medicaid.
- Key partnerships: Nationally, WSHA is working with the American Hospital Association (AHA) on data modeling and media campaigns. WSHA is working locally with a coalition of SEIU/labor, long-term care and patient groups to coordinate media and direct advocacy in our target districts.
