It’s Saturday afternoon and I wanted to let everyone know that I arrived safe and sound. It’s colder and cloudier than Albany (imagine that!). Cherry Blossoms are in bloom though. I spent some time Friday gathering data and reviewing our positions on various national legislative issues. I am honored to be here on behalf of our local (and state) chapter. I had my first chance to lobby several years back when the Sole Proprietor Legislation was being formed and I got a glimpse of how important it is that we stay aware of issues and interact with our representatives on the state and national level.
Our membership is in a unique position to affect healthcare reform as we are, in a way, bilingual, in that we speak both “insurance speak” and “client speak”. We know our industry and we know our clients. We have an obligation to our clients (and our industry) to help shape a healthcare system that promotes wellness, efficiency and affordability.
Enough of the niceties, I also want to make those of you aware of where NAHU stands on national legislative issues. To view the NAHU 2009 Legislative Priorities, click HERE.
I think the first step we should take is familiarizing ourselves with these priorities. The second step is getting familiar with the legislative process. I’ve found visiting the congressional web sites very helpful in figuring out it all happens. I am embarrassed to say that, until only a few years ago, I was not aware of much of this (I should have paid more attention in my Political Science classes).
Anyway, the two sites to visit are the Senate web site and the House of Representatives web site. Go to http://www.senate.gov/ to research Senators, committees and other items of interest on the Senate side (see if you can find out why Schumer is a Class III Senator while Gillibrand is a Class I).
As you know we only get 2 Senators, but get 29 House Representatives. Go to http://www.house.gov/ to see who your representative is as well as see what’s going on in “The House”. Our New York contingent will most likely visit our 2 Senators as a group, but I will be meeting with my particular House Representative, Paul Tonko, with only a couple of other NYSAHU members.
That’s it for now. Tomorrow starts at 7:30 a.m. and I’m in the Leadership Forum until 5 p.m. I hope to be able to at least “Twitter” quick updates, but if not you’ll hear my thoughts here after it’s done.
Take care,
Pete
Our membership is in a unique position to affect healthcare reform as we are, in a way, bilingual, in that we speak both “insurance speak” and “client speak”. We know our industry and we know our clients. We have an obligation to our clients (and our industry) to help shape a healthcare system that promotes wellness, efficiency and affordability.
Enough of the niceties, I also want to make those of you aware of where NAHU stands on national legislative issues. To view the NAHU 2009 Legislative Priorities, click HERE.
I think the first step we should take is familiarizing ourselves with these priorities. The second step is getting familiar with the legislative process. I’ve found visiting the congressional web sites very helpful in figuring out it all happens. I am embarrassed to say that, until only a few years ago, I was not aware of much of this (I should have paid more attention in my Political Science classes).
Anyway, the two sites to visit are the Senate web site and the House of Representatives web site. Go to http://www.senate.gov/ to research Senators, committees and other items of interest on the Senate side (see if you can find out why Schumer is a Class III Senator while Gillibrand is a Class I).
As you know we only get 2 Senators, but get 29 House Representatives. Go to http://www.house.gov/ to see who your representative is as well as see what’s going on in “The House”. Our New York contingent will most likely visit our 2 Senators as a group, but I will be meeting with my particular House Representative, Paul Tonko, with only a couple of other NYSAHU members.
That’s it for now. Tomorrow starts at 7:30 a.m. and I’m in the Leadership Forum until 5 p.m. I hope to be able to at least “Twitter” quick updates, but if not you’ll hear my thoughts here after it’s done.
Take care,
Pete
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