LEGISLATIVE ALERT



IMMEDIATE ACTION IS REQUESTED ON PENDING MEDICAL HOME LEGISLATION!



April 22, 2008



The Senate Finance Committee is expected to take up a Medicare package
shortly, and there are discussions underway to expand the medical home
demonstration project initiated in the Tax Relief and Health Care Act
of 2006 (P.L. 109-432) as part of this bill. The original Tax Relief
and Health Care Act of 2006 mandates a demonstration in up to eight
states to provide targeted, accessible, continuous and coordinated
family-centered care to Medicare beneficiaries who have multiple
chronic or prolonged illnesses that require regular medical
monitoring, advising or treatment.&! nbsp; Unfortunately, this
legislation failed to include nurse practitioners who are already
providing family-centered care to these populations.



NAPNAP is working in conjunction with AANP, ACNP, and NONPF for the
inclusion of nurse practitioners in all future Medicare, Medicaid and
SCHIP medical home demonstrations but we need your help!



If you live or practice in one of the states listed below, we are
asking you to take a few minutes today to email the health aide(s) in
your Senate office(s) and ask that they support language to include
nurse practitioners in the medical home demonstration.



EMAIL INSTRUCTIONS:



1. Please address the email to the Senator’s health aide(s), as
listed below.

2. Include in the Subject line: Inclusion of Nurse Practitioners
in Medical Home Demonstrations

3. Please feel free to cut and paste the text below or use your
own words to request that the Senate Finance Committee include nurse
practitioners in the medical home demonstration project expansion,
when the Medicare bill comes up for consideration.

4. Please provide your name, city and state and the fact that you
are a nurse practitioner.

5. If possible, please blind copy the email to our Washington
Representative, Amy Demske at demske.amy@... so she can
monitor the number of emails that have been sent by NAPNAP members.



EMAIL TEXT TO CUT AND PASTE:



As a nurse practitioner from your state, I am writing about the
Medicare legislation that will be up for consideration in the Senate
Finance Committee in the next few weeks. I understand that the
medical home demonstration project �" as authorized in Tax Relief and
Health Care Act of 2006 �" may be expanded as part of this legislation.



I am requesting that the Senator include nurse practitioners in any
legislation authorizing demonstration programs, reimbursement
authorization and incentives for participation in medical homes or
coordinated primary care practices.



The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 was drafted to include only
physicians in the medical home demonstration, despite the fact that
nurse practitioners have a long history of providing high quality
primary care in this country. The Institute of Medicine has defined
primary care as “the provision of integrated, accessible health care
services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large
majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained
partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and
community,” yet many of the proposed modes are not all inclusive.



We request that all legislation and demonstrations be designed give
special attention to safety net providers who provide care for
patients who would not otherwise have access to care. We further
request that nurse practitioners be included in the design and
development of such programs.





SENATE OFFICES IN NEED OF CONTACT:


Massachusetts �" Senator John Kerry

Health Aide: Chris Dawe

chris_dawe@...