Family 2 Family Funding and Health Care Reform

As you have no doubt heard by now, THE critical vote on health care reform - and the future of Family to Family - is expected to take place at the end of this week in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Please - on your own time and using non-federal resources - call your U.S. Representative to urge him/her to VOTE YES on the health care reform legislation.

The bill would extend funding for F2F Health Information Centers at the current level of $5 million for an additional three years - federal fiscal years 2010, 2011 and 2012.  (We are currently in FY 2010, so the bill would continue funding without interruption.)  For more information on how the bill would affect children with special health care needs, please see below. 

How to call:  You can reach your Representative's office through the Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121.  If you are not sure who your Representative is, go to the upper left corner of www.house.gov and enter your zip code.

What to say:  When calling your Representative, let the office know that you are a constituent, and that you are calling in support of the health care reform bill, and a particular provision in it.  They may want to know only whether you are for or against the health care reform bill.  That's okay.  If they are receptive to taking more information, though, let them know that (in addition to the other reasons to vote for health care reform) the Senate-passed bill on which they will be voting includes a provision that will extend funding for your state's Family-to-Family Health Information Center.  You will have to name and briefly describe the F2F and why it's important to you and other families.  Of course, feel free to mention other reasons you support the bill as well, such as the provisions that will help children/youth with special health care needs (e.g., elimination of pre-existing condition exclusions).

NOTE:  If you already have a relationship with the health staffer in your Representative's office, you should ask for that person and explain that the F2F extension provision is included in the Senate-passed bill.

Tell your friends and family to call their Representatives too.  This is going to be a very close vote!

Follow this link - http://thehill.com/homenews/house/85693-whip-watch-the-hills-survey-of-house-dems-positions-on-healthcare - to see a list of Representatives who are undecided.  It is especially important for you to contact these individuals.  If someone on the list is from your state, but not your congressional district, perhaps you can find someone from his/her district to make a call -- a friend, relative, or colleague.  Or, you can call yourself, as a citizen concerned about the future of your state's F2F, and explain that a YES vote will keep federal funds flowing to this important resource for the Representative's constituents who have children with special health care needs. 

Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions. 

Janis Guerney, Esq.
Public Policy Co-Director
Family Voices
202/546-0558
jguerney@familyvoices.org
www.familyvoices.org

Some of the provisions of health care reform legislation that would help children with special health care needs and their families (effective 2014 unless otherwise noted):   

• Elimination of pre-existing condition exclusions for children (effective six months after enactment of bill). 
• A temporary a high-risk insurance pool for individuals unable to get insurance due to pre-existing conditions. (To be established in 2010.) 
• A requirement to allow dependents to remain on their parents’ health insurance through age 25. (Effective 6 months after the bill’s enactment.)
• Elimination of lifetime benefit caps (effective 2010) and annual benefit caps (effective 2014). 
• Elimination of pre-existing condition exclusions for adults, and prohibition on premium variations based on health status. 
• Expansion of the Medicaid program to cover all individuals in families with incomes under 133% of the federal poverty level. 
• No-cost preventive care and screenings for children, pursuant to the American Academy of Pediatrics “Bright Futures” recommendations.
• Subsidies to lower-income families for premiums and cost-sharing. 
• Limitations on deductibles and co-payments, based on family income.
• Provisions to increase the supply of pediatric subspecialists.
• Incentives for more community-based long-term care in Medicaid.

Editor's Note: The above has been adapted for this posting.