May 20 and 21, Robin Hayes (Delaware’s Grassroots Chair), Tricia Davidson (Pennsylvania’s Grassroots Chair), and Lisa Laird (AADE Advocacy Committee Member) attended the AADE sponsored Public Policy Workshop in Washington, D.C.
Engagement and Action was our mantra!
Our mission was to Learn-Train-Plan-Do.
We heard from advocacy experts from both AADE and ADA; the advocacy challenges and successes of colleagues from across the country; and industry partners regarding their legislative projects. All shared their knowledge, their experience, and their wisdom.
We were introduced to HR1840 and S814 – key federal legislation that would “Expand Access to the DSMT Act”.
We were briefed on tactics important for relationship building and we developed an action plan for engaging our LNGs and other stakeholders back home.
No workshop is complete without the “Doing”. We were assigned to visit five legislators:
- Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4)
- Senator Robert Casey (D-PA)
- Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6)
- Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
- Senator Patrick Toomey (R-PA)
We also visited the office of:
- Lisa Blount-Rochester – D Rep – DE
to encourage them to read the information packet on the bill and to encourage sponsorship as well as utilize us a resource.
We visited the offices of current PA congressman who are co-sponsors of HR 1840:
- Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA)
- Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
to thank them for sponsoring this Resolution.
Though this Resolution has not been scored by the CBO, we stressed that adoption of this Resolution is expected to save an average of $1,276 per Medicare beneficiary each year or $12,760 over ten years which translates to an estimated Medicare savings between $4.9 and $9.4 billion over ten years.
“Move the Needle on Diabetes” is one of the resources provided in the packet. Please reach out to AADE for a copy of this publication. It offers many statistics and talking points you can use when you speak with decision makers and stakeholders.
We were very pleased with the reception we received from all the offices. Let’s continue this momentum and take action to gain more support from our legislators. It takes less than a minute to be take part and make a difference! Engage and act!
Click here to send a letter to your members of Congress asking them to support this legislation.
Robin Hayes, MS, RD, CDE, LDN: Delaware Grassroots Chair
Patricia Davidson DCN,RDN, CDE, LDN, FAND: PA AADE State Grass Roots Coordinator