| The latest news from and for state health care advocates |
April 2011 |
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In each edition, we'll feature an action, victory, campaign, or interesting tactic shared by a state advocate. Send us your updates. |
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In This Issue:
What’s Inside:
Buzz around the States
New Jersey Policy Perspective hosts a Medicaid Roundtable.
In North Carolina, a small business owner testifies about how his business will fair in the wake of poor exchange legislation.
Oklahoma Policy Institute has a new paper on Protecting Core Services: Revenue Options for a Balanced Budget
Maryland Health Care for All celebrated success as their alcohol tax was signed into law. A summary of the new law can be found here.
Women’s Coalition for Health Reform in Maryland’s new advocacy report, The Health Benefit Exchange Act of 2011.
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States in Focus
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To engage Latinos in the discussion of health care reform, reaching Spanish-language media is essential. Providing these media outlets with information about events and issues that directly impact their communities can help elevate advocates as sources for Spanish media.
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PLAN: Working the Spanish-Language Media Market
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) seeks diverse allies to involve in its issue-based campaigns, and the organization has pinpointed the Latino community as an essential population to engage in their work. One of their main focus areas is the issue of health care and educating Latino communities about the disproportionate benefits they receive from the health care law.
Elvira Diaz, an organizer for PLAN in Reno, finds that targeting the Spanish-language media market has been an effective way to reach this audience. To obtain coverage in this market, she works to cultivate, foster, and develop relationships with Spanish-language newspapers, radio stations, and the television station, Univision. Elvira is in constant communication with these media outlets. Through press releases, emails, calls, and in-person visits with Spanish-language media representatives, Elvira has developed long-term relationships with staff at a variety of outlets. Her goal is to become a resource for reporters by informing them about the many issues that affect the Latino community, which extend past health care issues. Her relationship with Spanish-language media has evolved over time into more of an exchange and dialogue. Now, these outlets reach out to Elvira on a regular basis, and she is invited to events hosted by them.
Because of these relationships, Elvira notes that PLAN has been able to achieve consistent coverage in these outlets. Staff members are represented in Spanish-language newspapers regularly speaking on a variety of issues, including the recent budget attacks against Medicare and Medicaid. PLAN staff members developed PSAs for radio stations and were featured in the Spanish-language newspapers featuring this issue. These relationships have resulted in an increased ability for PLAN to reach the Latino community with information about important issues that affect them.
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Advocates in New Mexico used a challenge to their exchange legislation as an opportunity to get the pro-reform voice inserted in local media. By engaging a wide variety of partners in the public debate, advocates built a positive public dialogue for implementation and laid the groundwork for future efforts.
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In the Face of Defeat, New Mexico Advocates Built Diverse Public Support for Implementation
With a short legislative session that ended in mid-March, New Mexico’s state legislature had to act fast to pass exchange legislation in order to adhere to federal timelines. As advocates acted quickly to move the exchange bill through both the House and Senate, they knew that greatest challenge would be gaining the signature of the newly elected governor on the bill.
Barbara Webber, executive director of Health Action New Mexico, and her Health Care for All coalition partners applied pressure to policymakers both inside the halls of the statehouse and in the public discourse. In addition to endless visits with members, the coalition executed an op-ed strategy to build support for the bill. Through a series of op-eds published in New Mexico’s newspapers authored by a variety of stakeholders, advocates effectively sparked a positive public dialogue on the issue. In addition to more traditional allies, such as a prominent physician, the Coalition secured an op-ed penned by Terri Cole and Don Chalmers of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce in support of their exchange legislation. The editorial expounded upon the positive benefits of the legislation for small businesses while revealing diverse support for the bill. More importantly, it urged the governor to sign the bill.
Unfortunately, the new Governor blocked the legislation from becoming law. But, due to the good work of the Health Care for All Coalition, the positive attention of the media on this issue has revealed that people from all over the state approve of the advocate-supported exchange legislation. Although the future of an exchange in New Mexico is unclear at this point, advocates will be able to use the support they generated to push legislators and officials to make sure that a consumer-friendly exchange will be ready to launch in 2014.
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By asking new partners for their input, engaging them with important decisionmakers, and providing them with quality information or a new perspective, policy groups can build those relationships throughout the implementation process.
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UHPP Creates New Partnerships by Offering a Unique Opportunity
Joel Ario, director of the Office of Insurance Exchanges at Health and Human Services (HHS), was quoted recently saying, “The Utah model is a valid model for an exchange.” Utah Advocate Judi Hilman, executive director of Utah Health Policy Project, seized the opportunity to contact Joel Ario directly. Staff at HHS’s Office of Insurance Exchanges were eager to hear her concerns about the ability of the Utah exchange to meet the needs of small businesses and adhere to federal standards. And Joel Ario himself welcomed Judi’s invitation to speak with stakeholders in Utah.
The call served two main purposes. Primarily, it afforded groups an opportunity to engage Joel about the exchange process in Utah. Additionally, as Shelly Braun, a policy analyst with UHPP explained, the call provided a unique opportunity for UHPP to engage the small business community in the exchange dialogue. The latter goal is of particular importance, because there has been much confusion among the business community regarding the tax credit and how the new exchange will succeed in bringing down cost when the state’s model fell short. The call provided these participants with the opportunity to air those concerns and discuss some of the most challenging implementation issues Utah faces.
UHPP plans to maintain contact with local chambers of commerce by offering them educational information and asking them for their input on key exchange decisions. They also plan to continue building relationships with leaders, such as Joel Ario, by asking questions when appropriate and sending updates from their state. According to Judi, the call provided an excellent opportunity to simultaneously engage two key players, small businesses and the Obama administration, in the implementation process, and it serves as a starting point for ongoing relationships with HHS and the business community.
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Beat of the Month
Along with reaching out to Spanish-language media, it’s also important to listen to some great Spanish-language music: Chan Chan by Buena Vista Social Club.
Advocate Tip:
College graduation season is quickly approaching. This special occasion for many American families also provides health care advocates an excellent organizing and media opportunity. Make connections with on-campus youth networks to distribute information and plan events featuring young adults who will benefit from the Affordable Care Act. Use Young Invincibles’ Graduation Tool Kit to get the word out!
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New Resources from Families USA and Stand Up for Health Care
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