Problem

Congress contemplated funding a Medicare SGR patch with offset funding clipped from a program successfully used by the nation’s premier integrated health care provider systems. The health systems had been using the congressionally-targeted program to achieve significant cost savings to the entire Medicare program (taxpayer savings corroborated by several five-star accrediting entities). If the congressional measure prevailed, the integrated health systems would have sustained significant financial damage, and taxpayers would have incurred billions of dollars of inefficiency to the Medicare program.

Approach

First, a coalition of very different premier integrated health care systems was organized. Second, despite differences of opinion among the systems, we helped unify the systems around a central message. Third, we educated congressional officials on the value of the program to Medicare Parts A & B. Specifically, we began frequent visits with each health system's congressional delegation to galvanize their support of our issue. These efforts made them disciples of our cause. Next, we began frequent visits with senior staff of the relevant committees handling our problem. Some staff were sympathetic, while others were not. We added more and more Members of Congress and Senators to our ranks over a short period of time. In turn, these elected officials and their staff influenced the specific committee chairmen and congressional leadership who were pushing their plan that was detrimental to our clients' problem.

Results

The congressional measure was defeated, thereby, saving the institutions hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, and saving billions of taxpayer dollars to the Medicare program.