Hospital Advocates Engage with 120 State Legislative Offices in Virtual Meetings
An important component of WHA’s annual Advocacy Day event is making the voice of Wisconsin’s hospitals heard loud and clear in the state Capitol with a unified message. Advocacy Day attendees did just that following a legislative issue briefing from WHA Senior Vice President of Government Relations Kyle O’Brien. Nearly 300 hospital advocates met virtually with 120 state lawmakers and legislative staff following the live Advocacy Day program on April 14, 15 and 16.
“Use your time during these meetings to tell your story. Remind legislators how important your hospital is to the community and how your hospital stepped up this past year during the pandemic,” said O’Brien. “It is these stories, coming from you, that legislators will remember.”
O’Brien encouraged those meeting with lawmakers to show pride for their hospital’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide specific examples of stepping up to support the community through testing, vaccine administration and staffing, for instance. These perspectives from frontline workers would help provide context to requests of lawmakers to ensure that hospitals have the necessary resources to strengthen Wisconsin’s health care safety net.
O’Brien also advised attendees to highlight the impact a cut in Medicaid reimbursement would have on access to quality health care in Wisconsin and to ask lawmakers to permanently reauthorize the $40 million in general purpose revenue for the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Program to avoid a $100 million cut for Wisconsin hospitals.
This story originally appeared in the edition of WHA Newsletter