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Win Marshall at Annual Meeting
At AAHSA’s Annual Meeting last week, board chair Win Marshall charged members to devote 15 minutes a week to advocating for our field.
That kind of call to action can be considered a double-edged sword. On one hand, that kind of time can be hard to find when you’re facing a state survey or a board meeting. Conversely, 15 minutes isn’t that much time. How can it really make a difference?
I’m writing today to answer to that question. Fifteen minutes may not be much time, but it’s just enough to make advocating for aging services a habit. It’s also plenty of time to write, call or e-mail the people who need hear to about the work AAHSA members do for older adults.
Here are a few ideas for getting started on the “15 Minutes a Week” challenge:
- Learn about your legislators on AAHSA’s Contract Congress page.
- Read AAHSA’s policy priorities and issue briefs.
- Send an e-mail to your legislators on Capitol Hill. From housing funding to health reform, they need to hear from you.
- Make advocacy the topic of a staff meeting. Ask employees what issues about their work inspire them to act.
- Invite your member of Congress or a member of their staff to visit your organization. Even if they can’t make it, an invitation is a great way to form a relationship with your policy makers.
Have you already started the challenge? Great! Let us know how you spent your first 15 minutes.
- Donna Taylor
Today’s USA Today featured yet another article about the CLASS plan, but unlike the other coverage, this editiorial piece puts and name and a face on the importance of including long-term care in health reform.
The article starts with the story of Donna Taylor. If you read this blog, you’ve probably heard of Donna. She works full-time at one of our Arizona members and has been a caregiver for her parents and grandmother at the same time. As Donna tried to care for her loved ones, she faced an all too-common challenge in our country, affording the care her family members needed without impoverishing them or moving them into a nursing home.
Donna’s story symbolize why the CLASS plan is such an important part of health reform. Take Donna’s dad. As a teacher, he could’ve signed up for the CLASS plan and gotten cash benefits to stay at home while he suffered from neuropathy. Instead, he had to move into a nursing home.
Or consider Donna’s daughter. If the CLASS plan is in place, her parents can pay her to help them around the house or cover the cost of a wheelchair. And wouldn’t have to choose between caregiving costs and summer camp for her children like Donna did.
All of us know someone like Donna. Now, it’s time to tell your Senators about it. Please use on Contact Congress system and tell your legislators why the CLASS plan must be part of health reform. People like Donna are counting on you.
When it comes to seniors and health reform, it seems like there are more questions than answers: Will my doctor still take Medicare? How will prescription drug coverage change? Is long-term care part of the proposal? And like any political hot topic, unbiased information is hard to find.
It is those kind of questions that got a coalition of seniors and their advocates, including AAHSA, to launch the Seniors to Seniors campaign. This initiative’s goal is to give seniors the facts about health reform and the potential benefits it offers them.
The campaign’s centerpiece is a series of videos of seniors and caregivers that provides answers to the questions seniors ask most about health reform. It’s centered around the principles of health reform that will benefit America’s seniors, including:
- Keeping doctors in the Medicare system.
- Reducing costs and out-of-pocket spending.
- Closing the doughnut hole.
- Keeping Medicare affordable for the future.
- Expanding long-term care choices.
The campaign’s Web site also includes an FAQ, a place for seniors to share their stories, and an advocacy section.
The fact of the matter is, information is power. And the Seniors to Seniors resources can help more older adults make informed choices about this important issue.
How can you help? Share the Web site with your family, friends and colleagues. Post the video on your Facebook profile. Watch the video at your next staff meeting. The ideas are endless. How will you share the information?
