Urgent need for you to call Senators to oppose horrible Hospice & Palliative care Bill

Urgent need for you to call Senators to oppose horrible Hospice & Palliative care Bill

Hospice Patients Alliance Newsletter

Hi, We are sharing an urgent request from our friends at Euthanasia Prevention Coalition - USA working with pro-life attorney Sara Buscher.  The Congress is moving forward with the horrible PCHETA Bill we have mentioned before that would "etch in stone" the tainted form of hospice and palliative care that has so egregiously violated their original mission to provide life-affirming care.  We urge you to call the Senators listed. It really will help! Also, you can download Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA's statement at our HPA site (we uploaded it so you can easily view it): www.hospicepatients.org/opposing-pcheta-talking-points-nov-dec-2019-euth-prevent-coalition-usa.pdf This explains why the Bill is seriously flawed. Please share it with all your contacts, friends, and other pro-life advocates. Here is the letter from Sara Buscher, Esq and Nancy Elliott of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition - USA: On behalf of EPC USA, Nancy Elliott and Sara Buscher are organizing a grass roots contact with key Senators to stop passage of the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA). S.2080/H.R. 647. Both are in the Senate HELP Committee. Our talking points for opposing PCHETA are attached for your use. We have learned that the Senate HELP committee has decided to report S.2080 out or include its language in a public health bill before the end of 2019. The Senate has a floor period from December 2 through the 13. We plan to send letters to all the key Senators on Monday, December 2. We propose that your organizations rally your members to start contacting key Senators on Tuesday, December 3. Each senator is typically tallying the messages they receive on each side of each issue. The purpose of these emails/calls is to get a tally against the bill recorded. SENATORS' CONTACT INFO We are asking you to call or email the following Senators, especially Senators Alexander, Cassidy, Enzi, Paul and Capito. Their contact information follows and after that we have provided a sample Email and a sample Phone Call Script.   Senators on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee: Senator Lamar Alexander, Committee Chair Staff: jennifer_boyer@help.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-4944 Senator Mike Braun Staff: reily_inman@braun.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-4814 Senator Richard Burr Staff: angela-wiles@help.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-3154 Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. Staff:rob_butora@cassidy.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-5824 Senator Susan Collins (she has signed on as a co-sponsor) Staff: amy_pellegrino@aging.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-2523 Senator Michael Enzi, Chair of Primary Health… Subcommittee Staff: amanda_lincoln@help.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-3424 Senator Johnny Isakson Staff: will_dent@isakson.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-3643 Senator Lisa Murkowski (she has signed on as a co-sponsor) Staff: anna_dietderich@murkowski.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-6665 Senator Rand Paul, M.D. Staff: zach_bennett@paul.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-4343 Senator Pat Roberts Staff: bryan_wells@roberts.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-4774 Senator Mitt Romney Staff: jess_pavel@romney.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-5251 Senator Bob Casey (said to be a Prolife Democrat) Staff: gillian_mueller@casey.senate.gov Office: (202) 224-6324 Not on Committee: Senator Shelley Moore Capito   (She is the Republican Sponsor of S.2080) Staff: dana_richter@capito.senate.gov Office: 202-224-6472 ----------------------------- SAMPLE EMAIL From the list above, find the email address of the Senator’s health care Staff. Address the email to this person. Copy and paste the message below and modify it to include a personal story about how this issue would affect your life: Dear Senator, I am writing to ask you to oppose S. 2080, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act and its House counterpart, H.R. 647, in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions where the bills are waiting for a vote. I ask you to oppose this legislation because: The bill could erase hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicare fraud recoveries by leaving the definition of “serious or life-threatening illness” until after enactment. AND Palliative care is often a dangerous path to death for people not otherwise dying who could have years to live. The bill’s protective provisions in Section 5 will not stop the abuse and hastened deaths of people enrolled in hospice and palliative care. The first protection is not enforced because the federal agency authorized to do so, does not have the necessary data; the second protection (S. 2080 only) applies to the furnishing of care under the Act, but the Act funds education, research and public information, not the furnishing of care. OPTIONAL: Mention and attach Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA’s Talking Points. Add your own experiences or concerns. Thank you for your time. Your Name and Contact information. You can expect to get a form response or even no response, but know that each senator is typically tallying the messages they receive on each side of each issue. ----------------------------- SAMPLE PHONE CALL SCRIPT You can reach Senator’s office by calling the number we provided. A staff member in the senator’s office will probably pick up the phone. Your conversation will go something like this: Senator’s office. How can I help you? Hi, I am calling to ask Senator ________ to oppose S. 2080 and H.R. 647, two versions of the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act and oppose them in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions where the bills are waiting for a vote. Then say just one sentence about how this issue affects your life to show the staffer that the issue means something to you. You could say this or just pick one of the two reasons. I ask you to oppose this legislation because: The bill could erase hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicare fraud recoveries by leaving the definition of “serious or life-threatening illness” until after enactment.  AND Palliative care is often a dangerous path to death for people not otherwise dying who could have years to live. The bill’s protective provisions in Section 5 will not stop the abuse and hastened deaths of people enrolled in hospice and palliative care. When the staffer asks Can I get your name and address?  Provide your name and address so your call is counted.  Then say Thank you for your time. and you’ll be done!  Your goal is to be counted, so a quick and courteous call like this is all it takes. If you get voicemail, leave your name and address in your message. [end of letter] ### Thanks! All healthcare must be pro-life, otherwise it is not healthcare! Ron Panzer for Hospice Patients Alliance