Consumer advocacy group People for Quality Care (PFQC) is calling on stakeholders in the HME market to increase their advocacy efforts ahead of the Washington Legislative Conference, slated for May 23-24.
Hosted by the American Association for Homecare, the Washington Legislative Conference is an event aiming to bring together HME stakeholders in Washington, D.C. and prepare them to meet with their representatives in an effort to sway policy and legislation.
"We need our members of Congress to understand what is at stake for the HME community, and we need members of that community to help explain it to them," according to information on AAHomecare’s site. "We’ll work with you to schedule the right appointments. Once you get here, you’ll have access to homecare’s top experts, who will help you understand the details of the key issues during a half-day issue education program. We’ll also provide tips on the best ways to establish working relationships with your members of Congress, give you handouts to leave behind in Hill offices after your appointments, and then follow-up with those offices to reinforce your message."
Important issues attendees will be addressing, according to PFQC, include relief for non-bid areas, reform to competitive bidding and the exemption of CRT devices from pricing derived from bidding.
"It is critical that our legislators understand the dire situation across the HME landscape, and one of the most powerful tools we have in the process is the voice of the consumers — their constituents — who are suffering as result of their inaction," stated Kelly Turner, director of PFQC, in a prepared statement.
To that end, Turner and PFQC are encouraging providers to "empower your patients and community to get involved and join the fight" by taking advantage of a range of resources offered by the organization, including:
- Sharing their website, peopleforqualitycare.org, where they’ll find a range of resources and information to help them influence their representatives;
- Printing out ready-to-use pamphlets from their website to distribute to patients and customers, with easy-to-digest information in plain English; and
- By sharing posts from the PFQC social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, to help mobilize people online.
"By connecting your customers to these resources," said Turner, in a prepared statement, "we can double down our collective advocacy efforts and make a difference. Together, we can. Together, we will!"
For more information about the Washington Legislative Conference, visit aahomecare.org. More information about PFQC is available at peopleforqualitycare.org.
