Government Relations Committee...

Linda Hohengarten, Chair

PSONS Government Relations Report:  5/5/08

The 2008 Washington State Legislative Session which ended in March made great strides on behalf of our cancer patients and cancer prevention.  The highlights include: 

• Colorectal Screening Pilot Program – The state budget included $956,000 to get a pilot program in place that will provide colorectal cancer screenings to uninsured people in select counties around Washington State (King, Clallam, Spokane , Yakima , Pierce, Snohomish, Chelan, Jefferson, and Clark ).  The program will be run through the WA Breast and Cervical Health Program.  This was especially needed because federal colorectal cancer screening monies from the CDC had not been renewed leaving it up to the states to fund. 

• Providing Medicaid Coverage for Smoking Cessation Programs (SB 6421) – This program will provide $1.9 million coverage for smoking cessation products and cessation counseling services for those on Medicaid (with an additional $1.7 million match from federal money).  The bill was unusual in that it was passed by both the House and Senate with a tremendous amount of cross party support.

• WBCHP Digital Mammography Rate – The final budget included $585,000 for the Washington Breast and Cervical health Program (WBCHP) to address the shortfall between the current reimbursement and the Medicare rate for digital mammographies for providers participating in the WBCHP.  In spite of the fact that the majority of mammography providers are using digital machines, they have been compensated at a financial loss with the old analog pricing.

• Ban Smoking in Cars with Kids (HB 2591/SB 6287) – These bills would have banned smoking in cars with children inside.  They were both introduced but unfortunately neither bill passed their respective chambers, so the bills are “dead” for the year.  They are expected to be re-introduced again next year.    

If you have an opportunity, please thank your respective WA Legislators for a great session on behalf of all our cancer patients.

As an oncology nurse, you need to know how the decisions made by your policymakers affect your ability to deliver the highest possible level of care. One of the most important things you can do to ensure quality care is taking actions to influence these decisions. 

"Introduction to Health Policy Advocacy," a self-directed online course, demonstrates how, in a minimal amount of time, you can have a voice and an impact on these critical decisions. 

You'll find out why advocacy is important to oncology nurses, learn about the legislative process, discover how your advocacy efforts can play a role in changing policy, and understand how you can use the ONS Legislative Action center (www.onslac.org) to easily take political action. 

Course tuition is free to ONS members, with a $5 processing fee. The non-member price is $25. Tuition includes unlimited access to the course. 

At the completion of the course, you will earn 1.8 continuing-education credit. Click on the link for complete information: http://onsopcontent.ons.org/Meetings/HealthPolicy/home.html.

About the committee....

Participation on this committee does not require regular attendance at committee meetings. The work of the committee entails sharing information with others and encouraging participation in as many governmental activities as possible. Email alerts are sent out via the PSONS, and we invite your participation in discussions about current political issues in the PSONS Forum.  The purpose of the committee is:

• to educate members on local, state and national issues pertaining to health care, oncology practice and cancer prevention.
• members are actively involved in TACC, ASSIST, FOSNO tobacco issues and the Cancer Pain Initiative.

Please contact Linda Hohengarten for more information about committee activities.

Current Issues

ONS is working hard in Washington, DC to generate Congressional support for our Medicare payment and policy priorities but we need your help!

Please take a few moments to send your Representative an email asking him/her to sign-on to an important Congressional letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) urging: (1) increased payment for oncology nursing services, (2) collection of nurse practitioner specialty-specific data, and (3) a second study of the impact of recent cancer care reimbursement changes.  To take action, click here.

In addition, please take another moment to send your two Senators an email asking them to send their own letters to CMS and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) urging their action and support of these three ONS health policy priorities.  To call on your Senators to urge their action to address ONS?s concerns, click here. 

Please forward this alert to your friends, colleagues, and family members - we need as many people as possible to contact their Members of Congress and urge their support for ONS's priorities!

Thank you for taking action to support ONS?s efforts in the nation?s Capitol!

Washington State Resources

National Resources

Community and Professional Resources

Federal - Services

• FDA
• Health and Human Service
• National Institute of Health (NIH)
• Library of Congress - http://lcweb.loc.gov or http://www.loc.gov

USING INTERNET: LOBBYING AND INFLUENCING OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

There are several ways of using internet to learn about and contact our elected officials:

Go to the homepage for the State of Washington at http://www.wa.gov/, check on Index Washington, Select state Government Index, to reach the Governor, click on Executive Branch, then Governor. To contact a legislator, select Legislative Branch, then either Senate or House, and there after choose the district or legislature you are interested in.

ADDRESSING YOUR ELECTED OFFICIAL: 

When writing a letter or e-mail to your elected official always include your name and address. The correct salutations for elected officials are as follows:

President: "Dear President Bush"

Vice-President: "Dear Vice-President Cheney"

All other elected officials should be addressed either as "The Honorable + Name, or Position + Name". As in, "The Honorable Jane Doe" or "Councilmember Jane Doe".