July 4 Recess is Perfect Time to Hold Stakeholder Meetings - June 23, 2009

Congress will take a break from its very busy work schedule, recessing for the week of June 29 in observance of Independence Day. This week-long recess, coming in the middle of health reform discussions, presents a good opportunity for public hospital leaders and key stakeholders to meet with members of Congress to discuss the vital role of the health care safety net. NAPH encourages all hospitals to set up meetings with their delegation during the July 4 recess. Meetings with your Senators, in particular, would be helpful. We understand that the Senate Finance Committee is considering significant cuts to Medicaid and Medicare DSH. NAPH has drafted a one-page OurView document on our top health care reform priorities and a short set of talking points on the importance of retaining Medicaid and Medicare DSH payments in health care reform. We are happy to provide individualized talking points for hospital stakeholder meetings. Please contact Shawn Gremminger, sgremminger@naph.org, 202-585-0112.