The document provides information about an advocacy training meeting, including what advocacy is, how to get involved in advocacy, and how to contact legislators. It then summarizes key aspects of the Affordable Care Act, such as insurance market reforms, the role of employers and existing programs like Medicare, the creation of health benefit exchanges, Medicaid expansion, and how individuals and small businesses can access coverage options.
3. What Is Advocacy?
• Actively supporting and encouraging others to support a
policy or social change
• Examples of advocacy include:
• Calling, emailing, writing a letter or meeting in person with your
legislator or other public official
• Participating in a rally or demonstration
• Attending an advocacy event like AIDS Action & Awareness Day
• Signing a petition
• Voting
• Phonebanking or doorbelling in support of a candidate or cause
• Writing a letter to the editor
• Other examples?
4. So How Do I Get Involved?
First: make sure you understand the process.
• Elections and Voting
• Registering to vote and updating your registration
• Voting by mail
• Primaries, General Elections and special elections
• How the Washington State Legislature works
• State House, Senate and Governor
• Committees
• Getting a bill to the Governor’s desk
5. Contacting Your Legislators
• Call their offices directly, or use the legislative hotline
• Send an email or write a letter
• Schedule an in-person visit
• Know your talking points:
• Find out a little something about your legislator
• Know what you’re asking him or her to support
• Share your story about this issue – but keep it brief and on topic!
• Ask for a specific commitment (“vote for SB ####”)
• Say thank you!
7. AFFORDABLE CARE ACT OVERVIEW
Laura Treadway,
Director of
Public Policy & Advocacy
8. What is Healthcare Reform?
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of
2010 (ACA)
A way to reduce healthcare costs by increasing
access to care and preventative services
The ACA has specific elements that work within our
current healthcare and healthcare delivery system,
add to it, and improve it
9. What is going to change?
Several categories of change
Insurance Market Reforms
Employer Sponsored Insurance and Medicare will
continue, with small adjustments
Health Benefit Exchanges
Medicaid Expansion
There will continue to be uninsured people – who
will not enroll, immigrants that are denied access to
public program
10. Insurance Market Reforms
Some are already underway – like no co-pay for
preventative care visits
Some will start in 2014
Guaranteed Issue and renewability
No lifetime or annual benefit limits
Out of pocket maximums
Individual mandate
People will be required to have coverage (through
work, Medicaid, Medicare, or individual purchase) or
face penalties
11. Employer Sponsored Insurance
Employers with more than 50 full time employees
must offer them affordable health coverage (in
2015)
Affordable: employee’s share is up to 9.5% of
employee’s income
Employers with less than 50 FT employees can
provide insurance through small group market, but
are not required to do so
Exchange if no coverage offered
Insurance market reforms and patient protections
apply
12. Health Benefit Exchanges
New insurance marketplace for people to purchase
individual or small group plans
Premium subsidies in the form of tax credits
provided to people between 100-400% FPL
($11K-$44K/family of one)
All plans will cover 10 essential health benefits
13. Exchange Continued
Will be able to compare and contrast plans on an
apple-to-apple basis so you can make the best
choice for you and your family
In-Person Assister Program to help enrollees
Called the Washington HealthPlanFinder
Exchange will also be the portal to apply for
Medicaid Expansion
14. Current Medicaid
Medicaid is a public program that provides
healthcare coverage to certain categories of
people
Multiple programs that provide health coverage for
categories such as children, pregnant women, or
aged blind disabled
Childless adults who are healthy but low income are
not currently eligible
15. Medicaid Expansion
As of Jan 1, 2014, Medicaid eligibility will expand
to anyone whose income is up to 138% FPL
regardless of health condition
Federal government paying the majority of costs – a
big win for cash-strapped states
Two Medicaid programs will co-exist: Classic (old
method) and Expansion (new expansion population)
Will be using the name “Washington Apple Health”
