Membership Meeting & Advocacy Training August 15, 2013

ADVOCACY TRAINING

What Is Advocacy? • Actively supporting and encouraging others to support a

policy or social change

• Examples of advocacy include: • Calling, emailing, writing a letter or meeting in person with your

legislator or other public official • Participating in a rally or demonstration • Attending an advocacy event like AIDS Action & Awareness Day • Signing a petition • Voting • Phonebanking or doorbelling in support of a candidate or cause • Writing a letter to the editor • Other examples?

So How Do I Get Involved? First: make sure you understand the process.

• Elections and Voting • Registering to vote and updating your registration • Voting by mail • Primaries, General Elections and special elections

• How the Washington State Legislature works • State House, Senate and Governor • Committees • Getting a bill to the Governor’s desk

Contacting Your Legislators • Call their offices directly, or use the legislative hotline • Send an email or write a letter • Schedule an in-person visit

• Know your talking points: • Find out a little something about your legislator • Know what you’re asking him or her to support • Share your story about this issue – but keep it brief and on topic! • Ask for a specific commitment (“vote for SB ####”) • Say thank you!

Let’s See How This Advocacy Thing Works…

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT OVERVIEW

Laura Treadway, Director of

Public Policy & Advocacy

What is Healthcare Reform?

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA)

A way to reduce healthcare costs by increasing access to care and preventative services

The ACA has specific elements that work within our current healthcare and healthcare delivery system, add to it, and improve it

What is going to change?

Several categories of change Insurance Market Reforms Employer Sponsored Insurance and Medicare will

continue, with small adjustments Health Benefit Exchanges Medicaid Expansion

There will continue to be uninsured people – who will not enroll, immigrants that are denied access to public program

Insurance Market Reforms

Some are already underway – like no co-pay for preventative care visits

Some will start in 2014 Guaranteed Issue and renewability No lifetime or annual benefit limits Out of pocket maximums

Individual mandate People will be required to have coverage (through

work, Medicaid, Medicare, or individual purchase) or face penalties

Employer Sponsored Insurance

Employers with more than 50 full time employees must offer them affordable health coverage (in 2015) Affordable: employee’s share is up to 9.5% of

employee’s income

Employers with less than 50 FT employees can provide insurance through small group market, but are not required to do so Exchange if no coverage offered

Insurance market reforms and patient protections apply

Health Benefit Exchanges

New insurance marketplace for people to purchase individual or small group plans

Premium subsidies in the form of tax credits provided to people between 100-400% FPL ($11K-$44K/family of one)

All plans will cover 10 essential health benefits

Exchange Continued

Will be able to compare and contrast plans on an apple-to-apple basis so you can make the best choice for you and your family

In-Person Assister Program to help enrollees Called the Washington HealthPlanFinder

Exchange will also be the portal to apply for Medicaid Expansion

Current Medicaid

Medicaid is a public program that provides healthcare coverage to certain categories of people

Multiple programs that provide health coverage for categories such as children, pregnant women, or aged blind disabled

Childless adults who are healthy but low income are not currently eligible

Medicaid Expansion

As of Jan 1, 2014, Medicaid eligibility will expand to anyone whose income is up to 138% FPL regardless of health condition Federal government paying the majority of costs – a

big win for cash-strapped states

Two Medicaid programs will co-exist: Classic (old method) and Expansion (new expansion population)

Will be using the name “Washington Apple Health”

Questions?