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.

1. Membership Meeting &
Advocacy Training
August 15, 2013

2. ADVOCACY TRAINING

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!

6. Let’s See How This Advocacy
Thing Works…

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”

16. Questions?