ID/DD Advocates Hit The Hill During National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

On March 1, American Health Care Association provider members who service the Intellectual and Developmentally Disabled (ID/DD) took to Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of their patients.

The group, in Washington for the annual ID/DD In-Person Committee Meeting, first heard from Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) as well as current and former Hill staffers before meeting with their Members of Congress to urge them to preserve Medicaid funding, among other priorities.

Nine states were represented on Capitol Hill and AHCA providers met with members of the power Energy and Commerce and Finance Committees, which control the majority of Medicaid policy in the House and Senate, respectively.  For more information about the ID/DD efforts, contact Dana Halvorson or check out the website.  March is also National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, in which more details can be found here. 

Photo Caption: Provider members from the Idaho Health Care Association meet with Sen. Jim Risch (L-R: Brett Waters, Jamie Anthony, Sen. Risch, Tiffany Redden, Robert VandeMerwe).

Nominate One Hero to Honor All

You have now entered the 2016 AHCA/NCAL Awards season!  Please submit your nominee for the IDDD Hero of the Year award.  This award honors individuals who have shown commitment, dedication, and compassion in serving persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities and their families.  These wonderful and caring people need to know how much management appreciates them.  Nomination forms for the Hero award are available now here, and must be submitted to AHCA by May 23, 2016. 

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Grassroots Advocacy

Holly Jarek, AHCA's ID/DD Committee Chair, encourages AHCA's ID/DD providers to participate in our grassroots advocacy efforts in 2016.  AHCA would like to help you get facility tours and in-district meetings set up over future recess days.  Please provide your name, facility address, and email address and we will craft the invite and send it to you to send to the Congressional office.  The four brief steps for a successful facility tour visit can be found here.  Please feel free to contact Matthew Smyth and Dana Halvorson who can help you with all of the logistics.

AHCA's ID/DD Committee members, Renee Naylor (pictured to the left) and Kelly Head (pictured to the right), met with Representative Kurt Schrader (D-OR-5) last year, during AHCA’s ID/DD Residential Services Providers annual Hill Fly-In event. 

At Congressional Briefing, We Pack a lot into Two Days

Keynote Speaker Chuck Todd, NBC News Political Director and Host of Meet the Press and MTP Daily, will bring in current events in the context of politics and the upcoming election. More special guests will be announced shortly.

Join us in Washington, D.C.
May 23-24, 2016
Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel

Get all the details and register today. Congressional Briefing is a unique and critical opportunity to meet and discuss key issues in long term and post-acute care, and then take meaningful action by speaking directly to your Representatives.

• Earn 8.5 CEUs
• Find out all the latest news from Capitol Hill
• Discuss and plan around key talking points for Congressional visits
• Meet with your Members of Congress and their staff

The conference registration fee is complimentary to AHCA/NCAL Members and AHCA/NCAL Associate Business Members, and their spouses, and is accepted on a first-come basis. All registrations include continental breakfast, networking lunch, and cocktail reception.

Make Your Hotel Reservations Early
Rooms fill fast in the spring time as D.C. is a popular destination. Make your hotel reservations today and register for Congressional Briefing.

See the complete agenda at cb.ahcancal.org. The Advanced Registration deadline is April 22.

U.S. Congressional Calendars

As you are planning your visits with members of Congress and their staff in Washington, D.C., or in your district, the Congressional calendars will be of assistance to you.  The U.S. House of Representatives calendar for the 114^th Congress, second session, can be found here.  The U.S. Senate schedule for 2016 can be found here. The dates in blue reference the times the U.S. Senate is in session.  The red dates represent when the U.S. Senate is in recess.

AHCA/NCAL Advocacy App

If you haven’t already heard about it, then we wanted to alert you to a great app that allows you to keep abreast of AHCA advocacy efforts.  Among other things, it provides important talking points, issue briefs and features that allow you to take action.  It will be useful not only to you, but serves as a great way for providers to weigh in.  You can get the app by clicking on the appropriate black box below.

 

Download our advocacy app!

   

VOR Corner

VOR is a national nonprofit organization advocating for high quality care and human rights for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). VOR empowers its members to make and protect quality of life choices for individuals with developmental disabilities.  Founded in 1983, VOR is a national 501(c)(3) organization governed by a volunteer board of directors and funded solely by dues and donations.  VOR represents primarily individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families/guardians.  VOR advocates that the final determination of what is appropriate depends on the unique abilities and needs of the individual and desires of the family and guardians.  More information about VOR can be found here.