Community Catalyst: Making National Health Care Reform a Reality: News

Comments regarding Interim Final Portions of the Regulations to Establish Exchanges

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Assessing Consumer Protections in the Final Exchange Regulations

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Alert: Celebrating Women's Health and Other Opportunities

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Dear Partners,

As evidenced by your efforts during the ACA anniversary celebrations and the Supreme Court oral arguments, effective public education about health reform is one of the most important things we can do to make the law a success. But while the ACA continues to be attacked in Congress and pundits debate the (hypothetical) rulings of the Supreme Court, we know there are even more opportunities on the horizon to raise awareness about how the law is benefiting Americans. Today we want to highlight some of those upcoming events and opportunities.

Education Opportunities

Women
Women and their families have a lot to gain from the Affordable Care Act, and the more they know about it, the more they like it. We expect that issues surrounding women's health will continue to be in the news in the coming months. Countdown to Coverage Campaign is a new campaign by Raising Women's Voices to help women understand the concrete ways the ACA helps women make huge strides in improving their health. The Countdown to Coverage website provides a range of resources, including a Top Ten list of ways women benefit from the ACA, "Coverage Checklists" for different audiences of women and a tip sheet for writing blogs about health reform and women's health. The Countdown to Coverage Campaign has great material for advocates and consumers alike and we encourage you to check it out.

Also, May is a great time to educate women and promote the law with Mother's Day (May 13), National Women's Health Week (May 13 - 19) and the 10^th annual National Women's Check-up Day (May 14). National Women's Check-up Day is dedicated to encouraging women to visit their health care professionals to receive or schedule checkups, and to promote regular checkups as vital to the early detection of conditions such as heart disease, cancer and more.

Young Adults
As graduations approach, think about using the Young Invincibles' toolkit that provides state specific coverage information as well as resources related to student health plans, staying on a parent's plan, and assistance for individuals with pre-existing conditions. It also has tips for young women and other important information for young adults. Go here to download the toolkit.

Ongoing Efforts
Letters to the editor of local and community based papers remain a great way to get the word out about the ACA and by tying it to a story, an opportunity to share the experiences of how the law is helping real people. We encourage you to carry on the energy generated by March Madness and the ACA Anniversary LTE Challenge. See some samples from our winners for some more inspiration!

Thank you for your continued advocacy,

Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Alert: Announcing the Challenge Winners

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Dear Partners,

The results of the ACA Anniversary Challenge are in and the winners have been chosen. But before we reveal the victors, we wanted to take a moment to recognize all of you who submitted entries to the contest. We received op-eds and letters to the editor from 16 states, for a total of 30 earned media pieces that ran during the weeks surrounding the ACA anniversary and the Supreme Court oral arguments. Terrific work!

Without a doubt, these articles served as important vehicles (in addition to all your great events and social media activities) for getting the message out about how health reform is benefiting real people. We were so impressed by the diversity of messengers, from consumers to union leaders to hospital executives to faith leaders - the range of voices was great to see.

Drumroll Please...
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. We chose one state as the overall winner and two states to receive honorable mentions. Our grand prize winner is the Tennessee Health Care Campaign! With an entry of nine op-eds and letters to the editor, Tennessee blew us away with the breadth and depth of their submissions, from the different authors to the geographic reach and the strong messaging. Some of our favorites were Larry Drain's letter about how freedom from insurance isn't really free and an op-ed from Richard Henighan, a primary care provider who writes about caring for patients who are uninsured or underinsured. Congratulations to our partners at THCC!

We also chose two states to receive honorable mentions, so three cheers for Colorado Consumer Health Initiative and New Jersey Citizen Action! CCHI placed four consumer letters to the editor and made the smart decision to pair those with an op-ed that focused on the policy angle. This combination proved to be a good strategy, and we were impressed by this approach and the diversity of the consumer voices in the LTEs. In New Jersey, NJCA tackled new mediums, including a post on Blue Jersey, a popular political blog in the state. NJCA also placed a lengthy letter to the editor from an AARP leader. Finally, Jeff Brown of NJCA provides a textbook example of how to stay on message on television with his appearance on a local television talk show. Congratulations CCHI and NJCA!

The Prizes
The grand prize for Tennessee is an Anniversary party package from Community Catalyst full of various goodies with a New England theme. So Tennessee Health Care Campaign, keep an eye on your mailbox! For our honorable mention winners Colorado and New Jersey, we're sending a special visitor to your office who is sure to command attention.

Looking Ahead
Now that the ACA Anniversary Challenge is over, we will be looking ahead to other public education activities, so stay tuned! And keep your eye on the Community Catalyst blog, Health Policy Hub, where we'll be highlighting all the organizations that submitted contest entries in our next Shout-Out. Be sure to check out the debut post in this series here.

Thank you for your continued advocacy,

Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Alert: Will you accept our Challenge?

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Dear Partners,

Happy Anniversary to the Affordable Care Act! The second anniversary celebration is finally here, and events are kicking off across the country. Thanks to your hard work, stories and statistics about how the law has benefited real people are being broadcast far and wide.

ACA Anniversary Challenge: Who will win the prize?
As anniversary week gets into full swing and Supreme Court oral arguments are set to begin the week after, we want to keep the momentum and focus on what the ACA means locally - not just inside the Beltway. The ACA Anniversary Challenge is off and running (see below). The goal of the contest is to use letters to the editor to illustrate how the Affordable Care Act has helped people in your state. Just like an event, a letter to the editor can raise the consumer voice and show strong support for the law.

Suggestions for Spokespeople
Examples of perspectives that can create a compelling letter to the editor include:

A small business owner who claimed the tax credit to help him/her pay for his/her employees' health care.
A faith leader's perspective on how the Affordable Care Act has impacted his/her congregation.
A young professional who was able to stay on his/her parents' insurance plan.
A parent of a child with a chronic health condition who no longer needs to worry about lifetime caps on benefits or denial of coverage due to a pre-existing condition.

The Challenge has been underway for a few weeks now, but we'll be accepting entries until Friday, April 13, and these next two weeks are prime opportunities for placing letters to the editor in response to news stories about the health care law. Remember, there is a prize!

State Highlight: Colorado!
The team at Colorado Consumer Health Initiative worked with consumer advocates to place four letters to the editor about how the Affordable Care Act affected their lives and health care. These letters to the editor exemplify what we are looking for in the ACA Anniversary Challenge.

We look forward to seeing your letters to the editor as we all work to defend the health care law over the coming weeks. Be sure to send your entries to Lucy Cox-Chapman (lcoxchapman@communitycatalyst.org) as they get placed.

Thank you for your continued advocacy.

The Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Health Insurance 101

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Alert: Gearing Up for March (Health Care) Madness

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Dear Partners,

Preparations for the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and oral arguments before the Supreme Court are well underway. In these weeks of calm before the storm, we thought we would take the opportunity to share a new resource and a few reminders about ongoing activities.

Constituency Days
Given that the second year of implementation has increased the number of Americans who have benefited from the law's provisions, our national partners have recommended that each day of the anniversary week we show how a specific group has benefited:

Monday, March 19: Seniors
Tuesday, March 20: Women
Wednesday, March 21: Young adults/kids
Thursday, March 22: Lower costs/Small business tax credit
Friday, March 23: Pre-existing conditions (No longer being a factor in insurance eligibility)

New Toolkit
Think about using Young Invincibles' new toolkit that provides state specific coverage information as well as resources related to student health plans, staying on a parent's plan, and assistance for individuals with pre-existing conditions. It also has tips for young women, and other important information for young adults. Go here to download the toolkit.

ACA Video
We are still taking photos for our video of people who have been helped by the ACA. Here is a tip sheet on what we're looking for and an example of a photo. Thanks to those of you who have already helped with this effort. You can email your photos to Christine Lindberg (clindberg@communitycatalyst.org).

ACA Anniversary Letter to the Editor Challenge
Finally, our ACA Anniversary Challenge is in full effect. We have been seeing some great letters to the editor in support the Affordable Care Act and we are looking forward to many more. Don't forget to send those to Lucy Cox-Chapman (lcoxchapman@communitycatalyst.org) as they get placed.

State Highlight
We want to highlight your efforts and activities - let us know what's happening in your communities so we can feature it here, in a blog or with other state partners. This week we want to feature the Pennsylvania Health Access Network's "House Calls for Health Care." These events encourage meet ups to discuss the ACA and will feature health reform leaders (click here to see who is making calls) and a toolkit to help organize the event.

Thank you for your continued advocacy.

The Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Promoting Racial and Ethnic Health Equity Through Exchanges

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Alert: Preparing for the ACA's Second Birthday

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Dear Partners,

The second anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (March 23) is roughly a month away, and celebration activities continue to take shape both in the states and Washington D.C.

This year the backdrop for the anniversary will be the oral arguments before the Supreme Court, which take place the following week. It's important to frame anniversary events in terms of what could be lost due to a negative ruling and to keep up visible support for the ACA during the week that arguments occur as a counterpoint to potential opposition.

Given that the second year of implementation has increased the number of Americans who have benefited from the law's provisions, our national partners have recommended that each day of the anniversary week we show how a specific group has benefited:

As you know, anniversary activities provide a great opportunity to use stories to show the how the law is benefiting Americans. Blogs, letters to the editor, and op-eds are just a few ideas for how you can share these stories. We hope that the above schedule will complement many of the activities you are already doing.

As part of ongoing anniversary efforts, don't forget to send us your photos for the anniversary video. Here is a tip sheet on what we're looking for and an example of a photo. Also, last week we kicked off our ACA Anniversary Challenge and there are already some great letters to the editor rolling in. Don't forget to send those to Lucy Cox-Chapman (lcoxchapman@communitycatalyst.org) as they get placed.

Thank you for your continued work to make the second anniversary celebration a success.

The Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Alert: Announcing the Affordable Care Act Anniversary Challenge

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Dear Partners,

We are excited to announce the Affordable Care Act Anniversary Challenge, a contest designed to celebrate the successes of health reform as we mark the second anniversary of the law's passage.

The goal of the contest is to use letters to the editor to illustrate how the Affordable Care Act has benefited people in your state. As you know, letters to the editor are relatively short (approximately 150-200 words), and they are a great vehicle for amplifying or introducing consumer voices into the conversation.

Spokespeople Suggestions
Recruiting a variety of spokespeople to write letters to the editor can show specific ways the Affordable Care Act affects people's lives. Below are some examples:

A small business owner who claimed the tax credit to help him/her pay for his/her employees' health care.
A faith leader's perspective on how the Affordable Care Act has impacted his/her congregation.
A young professional who was able to stay on his/her parents' insurance plan.
A parent of a child with a chronic health condition who no longer needs to worry about lifetime caps on benefits or denial of coverage due to a pre-existing condition.

We're challenging you to place and promote your letters to the editor during the month of March. After April 1, we will evaluate the submitted entries and determine the winner(s). During the contest we'll do our part to promote your published letters using social media and working with our partners.

The grand prize will be an Anniversary party package from Community Catalyst full of various goodies with a New England theme. We will also be looking to award a few honorable mentions as well.

Evaluating the Entries
Entries will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Variety of spokespeople
Range of outlets - from traditional to online
Geographic reach
Use of social media to promote published letters
Number of letters placed

We hope this contest will be a meaningful public education opportunity with the potential for a fun reward. Our primary interests are creativity in use of spokespeople and geographic reach within your state. As you place your letters to the editor, be sure to send them along to Lucy Cox-Chapman at lcoxchapman@communitycatalyst.org.

Also, just a reminder about contributing photos for our Anniversary video. Check out last week's alert and a tip sheet here.

Thank you for all you are doing to celebrate the Affordable Care Act during these important weeks surrounding the anniversary and the lead-up to oral arguments in the Supreme Court. We look forward to seeing your letters to the editor. Let the competition begin!

The Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Alert: Public Education and the ACA's Second Birthday

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Dear Partners,

March 23^rd marks the Affordable Care Act's second birthday, and oral arguments before the Supreme Court begin March 27^th. The weeks surrounding the anniversary and the arguments are an important opportunity for us to redouble efforts to educate the public about the benefits of the law.

Approximately each week in February we will be in touch with a new idea for how you can raise awareness about consumer protections in the law. We will also be sharing successes and best practices from across the states, so please share any recent victories or campaigns with your field coordinator or email us.

Public Education Effort Week One: ACA Benefit Video
Community Catalyst wants to create a brief online video to share with all our partners. We will distribute it through social media and our broader networks in the hopes that it will become viral and build a groundswell of support. The concept is very simple - show the benefits of health reform to "real people" through a series of still photographs.

We need your help to secure photos of individuals and families who have been helped by the ACA. We are asking advocates across the country to collect pictures from members of their communities. Each image will depict the individual or family holding a sign they made in their own words, illustrating how health reform has made their world better or will make their world better. We will release the video in mid-March, before the anniversary. You can find more information here.

Guidelines:

Avoid technical terms and policy language. The message should be simple and easy to read. See this example of an ideal photograph, and please read over the one pager we included
Make sure the sign is large, relative to the rest of the photograph, and legible, so it can be read in less than 10 seconds.
Collect contact information for each of the signs - if the video goes viral legislators and the media may want to speak with people in the photographs.
Photos are due Friday March 2. Please email questions and photos to Christine Lindberg (clindberg@communitycatalyst.org)

Thank you for your continued efforts. Stay tuned: We'll be in touch soon with another idea next week!

The Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Comments regarding the Essential Health Benefits Bulletin

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Comments on November 2011 CMS guidance on State Consumer Assistance Program Participation in Exchange Core Area 10

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Alert: Essential Health Benefits: Template Comments

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Dear Partners:

Health and Human Services (HHS) released a Bulletin, sub-regulatory guidance, on the essential health benefits (EHB) package on December 16, 2011. Comments on the Bulletin are due on January 31, 2012.

While HHS has stated that the comments deadline is flexible, the time frame is short for EHB selection. EHBs are important because they apply to all new health plans in the individual and small group markets beginning in 2014, as well as to Medicaid benchmark coverage; EHB also applies to all plans sold in the Exchange.

As you may recall, the Bulletin raised several concerns and questions for consumers. We believe that it is important for consumer advocates to submit comments to HHS soon. According to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), states will determine their EHB benchmark by fall 2012. For background information on the ACA and EHB read this blog post.

We encourage you to use the template comments that focus on three major consumer issues. If you are interested in more in-depth comments, there is a comment guide put together by a national EHB workgroup. This workgroup, of which Community Catalyst was a participant, was led by the National Women's Law Center. Both types of commenting are valuable.

Top Three Concerns from EHB Bulletin

No data on benchmark plans
HHS allows states to choose one of four plan types ranging from small group to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP). However, there is no public data informing consumers what the qualifying plans look like. This data may be collected by a variety of sources. Today, HHS released the name of the carriers of the largest three small group products by state; however, the carrier list does not include the full list of benchmark options. Advocates need to review all benchmark options to provide valuable public input.
Benefit substitution across the 10 categories risks consumer health
HHS proposes to allow insurers to substitute benefits across the 10 required benefit package categories outlined by the ACA. Switching benefits across categories risks cherry picking by insurers, allowing them to attract healthier, less costly consumers.
No transparent and public EHB selection or evaluation process
HHS does not articulate how consumers will be included in EHB selection process on the state level. Additionally, HHS does not clarify how consumer feedback will be collected and evaluated for the annual update of the EHB package.

Resources

Thank you for your continued advocacy,

Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Comments to the Department of Health and Human Services on Exchange Guidance

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Principles for Essential Health Benefits Advocacy

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Alert: Action Needed to Protect Low-Income Families in the Exchange

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Dear Partners -

Congress must act before the end of the year to prevent an automatic 27 percent rate cut for Medicare providers (the "doc-fix", as it is generally known in DC.) To offset the cost of the doc-fix, some Members of Congress have proposed eroding health insurance affordability protections for low-income people in the Exchange. This will hurt already struggling families, and do long-term damage to the viability of the Affordable Care Act.

Please call your Senators this week and tell them: "We need to you stand strong against raiding affordability protections in the ACA. While averting a pay cut for Medicare's doctors is an important priority, the costs of this adjustment should not come directly from the pockets of struggling families."

More Information on the Proposal
When the Exchanges are running in 2014, individuals can receive premium tax credits in advance to help pay for their health insurance coverage. But if their income rises during the year, they may no longer be eligible for those tax credits, or they may be eligible for a smaller tax credit than they were receiving. In that case, they will have to pay back some of their subsidy at the end of the year.

To strike a balance between recapturing subsidies and not hitting working families too hard, the ACA capped how much an individual would have to pay back. Congress has already increased this cap twice. Some in Congress are now proposing to increase that cap a third time, or even eliminate the cap altogether, to pay for the doc-fix. This could force already struggling families to pay thousands' of dollars in penalties when they pay their taxes. It will act as a deterrent to enrollment, and erode public support for the ACA.

For more information on the affordability protections that are in jeopardy, you can see the blogs we wrote when Congress increased these caps to pay for last year's "doc-fix" and then again to pay to repeal the enhanced 1099 reporting requirements in the ACA.

Additional talking points
Increasing or eliminating the repayment caps would:

Impose financial hardship on low- and moderate-income families for having found a better job or gotten a raise.
Increase the number of uninsured. Fearing this type of unexpected cost, fewer people will enroll in the advanced tax credits. In fact, when the CBO scored similar provisions in the past, most of the savings came from lower take-up of tax credits not from increased revenues.
Jeopardize public support for the ACA. The prospect that families will have a large unexpected cost at the end of the year is likely to undermine public support for the law.

Additional Concerns
Members of Congress have circulated other concerning proposals for offsetting the costs associated with the doc-fix, including cutting funds from the Affordable Care Act's Prevention and Public Health Fund and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation(CMMI). By improving the delivery of care and the underlying health of the American people, these two programs are intended to drive down our nation's health care costs - so cuts to these programs are exceptionally short-sighted.

If you have any questions, please contact Katherine Howitt, Senior Policy Analyst, at khowitt@communitycatalyst.org or 617-275-2849.

Thank you for your continued advocacy,

The Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Alert: All Roads Lead to Public Education

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Dear Partners:

Monday's announcement that the Supreme Court has granted "essentially all of the health care related questions," gives us all a reason to re-double our public education efforts. The decisions will not be made in a vacuum, meaning that we need to continue to build support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The good news: a recent CNN poll shows public support for the individual responsibility provision of the ACA is increasing which affirms the hard work you've been doing to educate the public about the benefits of the law.

There are upcoming opportunities for outreach - from national news to holiday gatherings. Whether writing letters to the editor, engaging your network, meeting with local organizations and congregations, using social media, or starting conversations over the Thanksgiving table, engaging and educating our friends and neighbors is critical to build momentum around the ACA and to help people understand what it means for them.

1. Highlight how the ACA helps real people

Start a Thanksgiving-themed twitter campaign and encourage people to share why they are grateful for the ACA. Across the country, people are using #thankshcr to connect the message across states. Use our sample tweets based on recent message research we know works to build support for the law.
Use these targeted talking points from Families USA to "talk turkey" about the benefits of the ACA with members of your family.

2. Use the Supreme Court announcement to speak out

See our Health Policy Hub for more information about the issues SCOTUS will address.
To address questions about the Supreme Court, both Herndon and Media Matters have released messaging.

Key points:

Three circuit courts have ruled the Affordable Care Act is constitutional (only three out of the 12 appellate judges have ruled the individual mandate unconstitutional)
Judge Silberman, the iconic conservative senior judge of the DC Circuit, ruled last week "appellants cannot find real support for their proposed rule in either the text of the Constitution or Supreme Court precedent"
And, as always, the Affordable Care Act works

3. Help People Understand the ACA

People are still confused by what is in the law, but once they understand specific provisions, their support grows. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's new info-graphic series tackles five key ACA concepts. Share them with your friends and networks and post them to your website to help people understand what the law means for them.

We all know how hard we fought for passage of the ACA, and how much is at stake. We will continue to support your efforts to make our health care system work better for everyone - and to make sure that consumers have a voice in local, state and national debates.

Thank you for your continued advocacy,

The Community Catalyst Implementation Team

Three Steps to Save Billions of Health Care Dollars

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Alert: HHS Essential Benefits Listening Sessions

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Dear Partners:

Following the release of the Institute of Medicine's report on Essential Health Benefits (EHB) earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) swiftly scheduled a series of listening sessions both in Washington, D.C. and around the country.

The EHB will have wide-ranging reverberations regarding the adequacy of health insurance plans across both the Exchange and Medicaid. The hearings are an opportunity for advocates to voice their concerns and make recommendations about the EHB package and its development. Please note that remarks made during the listening sessions are not a substitute for written comments.

We encourage advocates to attend these hearings and weigh in on the importance of a transparent, consumer friendly process and the importance of a robust and affordable benefits package.

We also recommend that you begin to meet with fellow advocates as well as seek out new partners to discuss strategy on EHB advocacy and prepare to provide input into the process.

Resources:

Essential Health Benefits: A Federal Strategy Guide for Advocates outlines principles for advocacy and suggestions for next steps.
The Essential Health Benefits Process: What Advocates Need to Know Now provides details about the process to determine the EHB and when and how advocates can make an impact.

We will continue to work on this challenging issue and support your efforts. Community Catalyst will provide additional materials, strategies and information about this issue as HHS moves forward on deciding the EHB package.

Thank you for your continued advocacy,

The Community Catalyst Implementation Team