IHCA Leaders Congressional Visit outcomes
Last week, a small group of IHCA, ICAL and ICHC member leaders and association staff traveled to Washington, D.C. for the association’s annual congressional visit to advocate for Iowa’s long-term care profession. IHCA was the first state AHCA affiliate to visit Washington, D.C. since the pandemic began, and among the first visitors for many members of the congressional delegation, as the Capitol grounds only recently became open for visitors.
During the visit, the IHCA group met with Iowa’s congressional delegation directly to discuss the association’s key federal legislative priorities for 2021.
The IHCA group, along with members of AHCA’s public policy team, met individually with Senator Grassley and Representatives Hinson, Feenstra, Miller-Meeks, Axne and their staff during the visit. IHCA will also meet with Senator Ernst at the IHCA office in August.
Congressional visit outcomes
- OSHA COVID-19 Health Care Emergency Temporary Standard. The IHCA group shared IHCA’s comment letter to OSHA on this topic and successfully sought support from Iowa delegation members to weigh in with relevant congressional committees to express their concern on our behalf.
- Infrastructure legislation. The IHCA group asked the Iowa delegation that the broadband funding inside the current scope of the infrastructure legislation be made readily available to rural communities and health care facilities with as little red tape as possible, connecting standing IHCA federal priorities concerning telehealth expansion with this funding.
- Release of remaining Provider Relief Funding (PRF). A desperately needed $33 billion in PRF is still being held by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with promises to release the money reaching back to January. The IHCA group spoke with members of the delegation about the importance of releasing these funds, especially in light of the slow pace of occupancy recovery among rural nursing homes in particular. The group emphasized the important role this money plays in bridging the gap and ensuring ongoing access to long-term care in rural Iowa communities.
During the visit, the group received a national update briefing during lunch with AHCA President and CEO Mark Parkinson and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Clif Porter. The group also hosted IHCA fundraisers for Senator Grassley and Representative Hinson, marking the first time the IHCA has extended its political efforts to Washington, D.C.
Thanks to the support of the Iowa Health Political Action Committee (PAC) and member efforts, we achieved many historic legislative accomplishments earlier this year, and these meetings with Iowa’s elected officials were useful in helping ensure that public policy decisions improve the lives of Iowans in need of care from nursing facilities, assisted living programs and home health agencies.
Iowa Health PAC
The Iowa Health PAC is crucially important in keeping a clear line of communication open with legislators. IHCA thanks Iowa Health PAC contributors, as your contributions have been critical to the legislative success that the long-term care profession has achieved.
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