Wecom to the Federal Affairs Forum focusing on health care reform. That's because pretty much all we are doing here in Washington is health care reform, with a little Supreme Court discussion thrown in for good measure.
Just today, the three committees of jurisdiction in the House put forward a second draft of a bill that the leaders of the committees have put forward. Check AOTA's Legislative Action Center for a link.
http://vocusgr.vocus.com/GRSPACE2/WebPublish/Controller.aspx?SiteName=AOTA&Definition=ViewIssue&IssueID=6069
AOTA is pushing hard to get the home health flexibility language of HR 1094 in the bill. WRITE AND CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND GET THEM TO SUPPORT INCLUDING THIS IN HEALTH CARE REFORM.
It is not controversial, no cost and would help the home health community.
Post your thoughts on health care reform. Listen to the podcast of a conference call last week with leaders of the association. There is a link under advocacy at www.aota.org
Here is another opportunity to advocate for OT
Join Dialogue4Health’s Web Forum on Prevention, Equity and Health Reform
APHA is co-sponsoring a series of web forums organized by Prevention Institute and Public Health Institute on Dialogue4Health.org. The web forums focus on how advocates can get involved in promoting prevention and wellness in the health reform legislation currently under consideration in Congress. Visit the Dialogue4Health website to sign up and learn more.
Christina,
I am leading Augusts discussion for AOTA Gerontology SIS and my topic is "where do we see OT going with the new HealthCare Reform Changes. I could use some links and YOU to join our convo. I also have a fairly active twitter. You can email me at OT COnnections as Michelle Mckamy or OTDallas. I am OTdallas on twitter as well. or email me directly as ptrdallas@gmail.com
I would like to see AOTA weigh in on assuring that mental health care is included in health care reform and to assure that quality enablers for community participation such as occupational therapy, peer to peer supports, and attention to a range of prevention and early intervention community based supports across roles are part of reform.
There are hard decisions that will have to be made about what will be covered and what will not and there needs to be a strong ethical platform that grounds that discussion. My preference would be something based in quality of life and social justice as key decision making factors.
I have written individual letters and sent comments to my legislators (I am not sure how useful that is as my legislators are among the nays ... but it is what I can do). What is AOTA doing around supporting mental health needs within healthcare reform?
Sincerely,
Claudette Fette
Thanks for your interest. AOTA has been advocating for mental health and substance abuse to be equitably covered in health care reform. Virtually every proposal currently going foward includes a category for mental health, as it does for rehabilitation/habilitation, professional services, etc.
Please check out the Legislative Action Center for the latest updates including podcasts on what is happening in Washington!
Great for Gero! Please chekc on all the resources we have on the AOTA website, in particular the Legislative Action Center and podcasts, listed if you click on the "Advocacy Highlights" on the AOTA home page for links to podcasts that provide updates from July 9 and July 21. Watch for more!
We are working now to include the home health initiating service language from HR 1094 (check the Leg Action Center for more) in the health care reform bills. Help us help you ! Contact your Senators and Representatives!
Hello everyone,
Last night I finally had the opportunity to attend one of the health reform town hall meetings. It was held at the Keck School of Medicine and was not a "typical" town hall meeting in that the audience was packed with medical students, medical school faculty and administrators, perhaps a few physician assistants, and a very small sampling of other health professionals. The meeting was held by Congressman Adam Schiff, who represents California's 29th Congressional District. Attached below is a link which will enable you to witness the entire meeting, at which I turned out to be the very last person to pose a question, following numerous medical students and physicians who were quite eager to get to the microphone. Unlike those before me who asked question after question about the various types of plans that might be offered, my question was about the kinds of services I thought should be prioritized for funding under the various plans. I identified myself as President-Elect of the American Occupational Therapy Association. It was affirming to be able to have my voice heard in a forum of this kind. If you'd like to hear firsthand the question I posed and Congressman Schiff's response to it, I appear at approximately 1 hour, 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the tape...almost at its end. I'm glad I can share the real time exchange I was able to have with Congressman Schiff with you. I, like others of us who have been attending these meetings, urge you to participate in this wonderful aspect of our democracy and make your voice heard. Good luck!
Florence Clark, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
AOTA President-Elect
http://keckmedia.usc.edu/Keck4/Viewer/?peid=c9b69201e2d940fbb12e4871c1ad13b2
Dr Clark,
Since you have identified yourself as the President-Elect of the American Occupational Therapy Association, I just wished you have stayed away from partisan side comments (death panels, Sarah Palin glasses) since those were not representative of the organization. Let us focus on the issues.
Rudy Mijares, OTR/L
I apologize to those of you who may have interpreted anything I said during the town hall meeting as partisan. Believe me, it was not my intent to be so or to appear to be representing AOTA. At any age one lives and learns and I have learned from this experience that when one speaks from one’s mind and heart innocently in the public domain one’s actions and even political positions are easily misinterpreted. Fortunately, I have a year to prepare for my Presidency and really intend to polish my skills before I become a spokesperson for the organization and its members. I was so honored to have been voted President-Elect of the AOTA. I will work diligently this year to assure I serve as a fair-minded, effective and nonpartisan leader. I most sincerely commit myself to that. Thank you, Rudy, for this important lesson in the school of life and I thank all of you for being my friends.
Florence
So nice to see a constructive discussion about issues instead of an hour of yelling, as depicted on many news programs! I am glad you were there to enlighten the Representative about research already available. It sounded like he was willing to look at your information and take it back for further investigation to see if there was something that could be incorporated into minimizing costs.
Thank you, Dr. Clark. I greatly appreciate your response.
Rudy
I am an OT in a New York City hospital. We have a monthly "journal club," where an OT and PT will select a journal article to discuss with our rehab staff. This month we decided to discuss health care reform and how it relates to OT, PT, and speech. Does anyone have a good website or other resource to look up where OT stands and what OT is pushing to be included in the bill? Any information would be helpful.
Thanks, RJ
Thank you for representing our profession in this way!! I am an occupational therapy student intern in Federal Affairs at AOTA this semester and of course our main "to do" list revolves around health care reform. Advocacy for our profession is a passion of mine, and it is comforting to know that people like you are standing up and making our voice heard in such a big way. I am going to look into your research now because I also think prevention should be a primary focus for occupational therapy practice. It creates so many opportunities for us in the future and of course can impact our patients in a huge way. Thanks again for being such a strong advocate for OT!
You should check out the Legislative Action Center on AOTA's website. There are podcasts from our AOTA lobbyists discussing the issues we are pushing for and a variety of things you can read up on! Hope this helps!
The above message is intended for Florence Clark.