The United States Congress will be in recess for the next two weeks, which means that your members of Congress will be home in their districts and will likely hold town halls and other public events. Now is the perfect time to advocate for the community in your own backyard.
Here’s what to do:
- First, find out when your Senators and/or Representative will be holding a town hall or other event. The easiest way to do this is to call your members of Congress’ local offices: introduce yourself as a constituent and say that you want to know whether your Senator or Representative plans to hold any local, public events while home for the Congressional recess. You can also check their social media accounts.
- Once you find out about an event, please share it with your local bleeding disorders community, chapter, and NHF.
- When you attend, please use NHF’s talking points about the ACA repeal and replace legislation (the American Health Care Act) and the proposed cuts to the Maternal and Child Health HTC funding program. More information may be found in the documents links below.
Talking Points on the American Health Care Act (AHCA)
- As a member of the bleeding disorders community, you want to discuss the AHCA.
- We oppose the bill because it repeals the current ACA definition of essential health benefits (EHBs). EHBs ensure access to comprehensive coverage and several ACA policies, including the elimination of lifetime limits, only apply to services defined as EHBs. The EHB language could make the ban on lifetime caps meaningless.
- We are also very concerned about the AHCA’s Medicaid policies, since approximately 1/3 of our community is insured by Medicaid. The bill’s changes to Medicaid financing would lead to many individuals in our community losing their coverage if states limit benefits, impose higher cost-sharing and/or reduce eligibility in the face of budget cuts.
- Please vote NO on the bill.
Talking Points on Potential Cuts to the HRSA Hemophilia Program
- We oppose President Trump’s proposed cuts to fiscal year 2017 funding for the MCH/SPRANS program that provides grants to Hemophilia Treatments Centers (HTCs). Tell them the name of the HTC where you or your family member receives care.
- Ask them to support current funding levels for HTCs funded by the MCH/SPRANS program and CDC.
- The national network of HTCs provides expert, comprehensive care to people with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. Any cuts to HTC funding would jeopardize the health of our vulnerable patient community.
- Please oppose President Trump’s proposed cuts to MCH/SPRANS and maintain current funding levels for both federal programs that support HTCs.
4. If you can attend an event, share what you learned with your local chapter and NHF.
More information on these topics may be found in these materials: NHF letter on the AHCA, Medicaid and AHCA factsheet and HTC factsheet.
If you learn of an event or have any questions about NHF’s policy efforts, please email us at: advocate@hemophilia.org
