Action Items

• NEW! Comment on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule to advance Medicare dental coverage
  • You may utilize Families USA's template comments
  • Submit comments here by September 6 at 5:00EST
• NEW! Join the Consumers First coalition and comment on critical payment and delivery reforms in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) and Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS)
  • Register for Consumers First's webinar, "MPFS and OPPS Comments," on August 23, 3:00-4:00EST for more information
• Vote for Families USA's SXSW2023 panel, "Why is American health care still so broken?" Vote here by August 21

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

• NEW! Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States: 2022 Sex Ed on the Hill Convening (September 20-21)
  • Register now, since space is limited!
  • Read their fact sheet on the Real Education and Access for Healthy Youth Act
• NEW! Community Catalyst's virtual convening: Anchoring Race Equity and Advancing Health Justice (September 20-22)
  • Register by September 10
• National Academy for State Health Policy's annual conference: Forecast for State Health Policy (September 12-14)
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Advancing Health Equity (AHE) Learning Collaborative
  • Applications are due by September 23

Resources for Your Health Advocacy

• Inflation Reduction Act
  • NEW! Families USA's Insights Column: What the "Inflation Reduction Act" Means for Our Health
• Health Equity
  • NEW! National Health Law Program's comment post: Stop Discrimination in Health Care!
  • Families USA Analysis: Community Voice and Equitable Policymaking in the United States: Lessons from Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution
• Health Care Value
  • NEW! Families USA Comment Letter: Request for Information on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Initiative to Strengthen Primary Health Care
  • Consumers First: Comment Letter to Federal Government on the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule
  • Families USA Paper: Our Health Care System Has Lost Its Way
• Oral Health
  • NEW! CareQuest Institute for Oral Health: Medicaid Adult Dental Coverage Checker
  • Families USA Insights Column: Time for Medicare to Cover Our Entire Body
  • Families USA Fact Sheet: The Time is Now for Administrative Action to Improve Medicare Dental Coverage
  • Families USA Comment: Medicare Oral Health Coalition Applauds CMS' Inclusion of "Medically Necessary" Dental in Proposed 2023 MPFS
  • "Dear Colleague" Letters to CMS on Medically Necessary Dental Coverage from House Representatives and from Senators
• Surprise Medical Bills
  • Families USA Fact Sheet: New Protections from Unexpected Medical Bills: What You Need to Know About the No Surprises Act
    • NEW! Spanish version: Nuevas protecciones contra facturas médicas inesperadas: Lo que necesita saber sobre la Ley Sin Sopresas
• Reproductive Health and Abortion
  • National Partnership for Women & Families Issue Brief: State Abortion Bans Could Harm Nearly 15 Million Women of Color
  • Guttmacher Institute Interactive Map: US Abortion Policies and Access After Roe
  • INeedAnA.com: Find a clinic - to find vetted, up-to-date, and personalized info on how to get an abortion; no search or user data saved
  • ReproLegal Helpline: a free, confidential source for legal advice and information about abortion
    • Visit their website or call 844-868-2812
  • M+A Hotline: a confidential, private, and secure phone and text hotline for people in need of support for self-managed miscarriage or abortion
  • Keep Our Clinics: Support independent community providers who provide the majority of abortion care in the US
  • Donate to Abortion Funds (and amplify calls for donations): A donation to the National Network of Abortion Funds brings abortion funds closer to a future where all people have access to abortion without shame or stigma
• Behavioral Health
  • Families USA Advocacy Guide: Peer Supports in Behavioral Health Care: A 2022 Resource Guide for Advocates
• Medicaid
  • Families USA, Community Catalyst, United States of Care, and UnidosUS Webinar Recording: Reflections with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: The Past, Present, and Future
  • Families USA Sign-On Letter: Stakeholders Submit Letter to Democratic Congressional Leadership on Health Coverage Priorities
  • Families USA Case Study: Strategies for States to Maximize Medicaid Ex Parte Renewals and Limit Coverage Losses
• Prescription Drug Pricing
  • Morning Consult and Political polling on Rx pricing and APTC enhancements: Voter Perceptions of the Inflation Reduction Act
  • Families USA: Sample APTC Paper News Release Template for State Advocates
  • Families USA: APTC Paper Social Media Template
  • Families USA Issue Brief: Unless Congress Acts, Health Care Costs Will Soon Skyrocket for People Who Buy Their Own Insurance
  • Patients for Affordance Drugs report: Ten Reasons Why We Need to Lower Drug Prices Now
  • Families USA Issue Brief: Making Ends Meet: Reducing Costs at the Pharmacy Counter Will Help Americans Survive Inflation
  • Families USA Statement: Senate Needs to Get Prescription Drug Reform Over the Finish Line

Job Postings

• United States of Care:
  • Policy and External Affairs Assistant