A Look Back at the Last Two Years of Comprehensive Hospice Advocacy

A new era of Hospice Advocacy was launched in spring 2008 with a multi-phased strategy to build a national grassroots network dedicated to expanding and preserving access to compassionate, high-quality end-of-life care for all Americans. Here’s what we’ve done together in that time:

National Advocacy:

• NHPCO’s Legislative Action Center was launched in April 2008 with the ability to connect Hospice Advocates with their Members of Congress by email, phone or letter.
  

• The NHPCO Public Policy site re-launched as the Hospice Advocacy Resource Center in April, 2009.  The site was redesigned to be a one-stop comprehensive resource center with daily content updates and new tools for the hospice community.
  

• The Hospice Advocacy Click2Call service was launched in April 2009 to enable the hospice community to participate in Virtual Lobby Days when they can’t make the trip to DC.
  

• In 2009, we expanded Capitol Hill Day offerings to include the Capitol Hill Strategy Session and a coordinated and unified Hill Day, with Congressional meetings scheduled by NHPCO.
  

• Health Care Reform and Hospice Resource Center email alerts were launched in 2009 to keep the hospice community constantly updated on developments in these important legislative areas.
  

• The NHPCO Legislative Action Center was re-launched in August 2009 with the ability to connect Hospice Advocates to reporters and editors representing local and national media, track key legislation, and closely monitor their elected officials.
  
  

Grassroots Advocacy:

• More than 600 Hospice Advocates conducted over 1400 Congressional meetings at Capitol Hill Day 2009, and nearly 3,000 participated from home through NHPCO’s Virtual Hill Day.
  

• More than 3,400 hospice programs have sent two Open Letters to Congress and to President Obama, asking for a halt in the elimination of the BNAF (budget neutrality adjustment factor).
  

• Hospice Advocates sent over 8,000 emails and calls to the White House in the week before the final rule to eliminate the BNAF was published.
  

• More than 60,000 Hospice Advocates subscribed to the NHPCO Legislative Action Center, an online grassroots advocacy system connecting advocates with their elected officials.
  

• There have been over 130,000 emails, letters, and calls made to Congress since the NHPCO Legislative Action Center was launched in April 2009.
  

• Dozens of heart-felt letters from the hospice community were sent to President Obama as part of NHPCO’s Purple Folder Campaign.
  

• In August 2009, NHPCO’s Advocacy Activity Pledge campaign was the catalyst for connecting Hospice Advocates to Congressional town halls throughout the nation. It also prompted multiple hospice program tours with Members of Congress nationwide.
  

• In October 2009, NHPCO and the Alliance launched a video advocacy campaign encouraging Hospice Advocates to record their stories about hospice and the impacts of the challenges facing the community. To date, over 40 of these personal, compelling stories have been collected for use in messages to Congress and to be posted to the Web.
  
  

Media Advocacy- Your Contributions at Work:

• In 2009, NHPCO and the Alliance took out six full page ads in the popular Capitol Hill publication, Roll Call, asking Congress to intervene on behalf of Hospice.
  

• NHPCO published one full page ad in The New Republic, a publication considered required reading by the White House staff.
  

• Transit ads were placed in the Union Station DC Metro subway station serving the U.S. Senate, giving hospice advocacy visibility to thousands of Hill Staffers twice daily.
  

• NHPCO Senior Staff conducted two Radio Media Tours, reaching more than 4 million radio listeners with the hospice message.
  

• NHPCO orchestrated strategic placement of editorial content in newspapers throughout the nation.
  

• NHPCO leadership staff have appeared and consulted with national media networks such as CNBC, CNN, NPR and ABC News.
  
  

Legislative Advocacy

• NHPCO’s Public Policy Team organized and hosted two briefings in the House and Senate to educate congressional staff on hospice and the challenges facing the community.
  

• Multiple pieces of NHPCO supported legislation and Congressional sign-on letters have garnered the support of more than 300 Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. Legislative advocacy efforts produced a one year moratorium on the implementation of the BNAF cuts passed through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. As part of the FY2010 Wage Index Rule, the reimbursement cuts associated with the elimination of the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor were spread out over 7 years, instead of being harshly phased in over just two years. NHPCO is engaging in ongoing legislative efforts to protect the hospice community from additional cuts as part of health care reform. Though the issue may have faded from the public spotlight, legislation is ongoing and NHPCO vigilantly monitors any activity that may be detrimental to hospice.
  
  

What’s Ahead for Hospice Advocacy:

• During the first quarter of 2010,   the Hospice Action Network s is launching its social media resources for advocates to interact with each other, as well as friends of hospice, health policy reporters and editors, and Members of Congress in real time (check us out on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube!)
  

• Hill Day 2010 has been expanded to a day and a half, and will feature comprehensive strategy sessions, respite rooms for relaying stories to other attendees, and a full day of meetings with Members of Congress.
  

• Creation of the Congressional End-of-Life Care Caucus in both chambers of Congress
  

• Continued recruitment of Hospice Advocates through a variety of online and in-person activities and programs.