Today's meeting on Home Health Orders.

NAHC is co-hosting a Congressional briefing today from 3:00PM-4:00PM in Rayburn 2218.  This briefing will educate House staffers about the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act which would allow nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives, and physicians' assistants to certify Medicare home health plans of care.  NAHC is joining the American Nurses Association, American College of Nurse Practitioners, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and American Academy of Physician Assistants in hosting this briefing.

We are asking Forum members to reach out to health care staffers in their representative’s office to make them aware about today’s briefing.  Rep. Walden (R-OR), the House bill’s lead Republican sponsor, circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter to House offices inviting staff to attend the briefing and a similar invitation was circulated by the briefing hosts.  You may view the Dear Colleague by clicking here and the NAHC invitation by clicking here.  Feel free to forward these invitations to staffers who may not have seen them.  Plans are being made to host a similar briefing at a later date for Senate staffers.

In addition, we wanted to make you aware that NAHC is joining some of these same stakeholder groups in hosting a virtual lobby day tomorrow, September 28, in support of the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act.  On Wednesday, we are asking the home health community to make a special effort to email or call their members of Congress and ask them to cosponsor this legislation.  Below is an article that appeared in NAHC Report which provides additional information about Wednesday’s virtual lobby day.

 NAHC Report Article

Monday, September 26, 2011

Call to Action: Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act
NAHC, Stakeholders Asking Members of Congress to Co-Sponsor Legislation
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), along with the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Academy of Physician Assistants, is hosting a virtual lobby day on Wednesday, September 28, 2011, in support of the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act (S.227, H.R. 2267). This legislation is intended to allow nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants to sign home health plans of care. The nurse practitioner community will hold a similar virtual lobby effort on Thursday, October 6, 2011.
NAHC is encouraging home health advocates to email or call their members of Congress this Wednesday and ask them to cosponsor the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act. To find out the name of your representative and contact information, you may click here. You may visit NAHC’s Legislative Action Network for talking points and background materials.
To send an email through the NAHC Legislative Action Network, you may click here: Write Your Legislators. If you wish to call, the ANA is providing a toll free number, (888) 962-2262, which can be used to reach your representative’s and senators’ offices. The ANA call in number will be available until Monday, October 17, 2011, for all stakeholders to use to reach out to Congress about this legislation.
NAHC assisted with the preparation and drafting of the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act and has long worked to gather support for its passage. In addition to NAHC, this legislation has been endorsed by AARP, the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the American College of Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the American College of Nurse Midwives, and the Visiting Nurse Associations of America.

Shannon Lovejoy

Associate Director for Government Affairs

National Association for Home Care & Hospice

228 7th Street SE

Washington, DC 20003

(202) 547-7424