GRASSROOTS ACTION ALERT

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PLEASE CO-SPONSOR S. 3130, THE “INDEPENDENCE AT HOME ACT”

Thank you for engaging in efforts to advance S. 3130, legislation recently introduced in the United States Senate to serve some of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens – chronically ill elders and individuals with severe disabilities who are enrolled in Medicare.

The only way that this legislation can move in Congress is if we have strong bipartisan support among the majority of U.S. Senators. We need your help!

The more support Senators get from home, the more likely they are to co-sponsor the legislation and the more likely that this important legislation will become law. Senators return from their August recess on September 6th. Contact information for your member of Congress can be found on free websites such as these links: CONTACT CONGRESS or U.S. SENATE LINKS.

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Dear SenatorXXX,

I strongly urge you to co-sponsor S. 3130, the “Independence at Home Act” (IAH ACT),championed by Senators Markey (D-MA), Cornyn (R-TX), Portman (R-OH) and Bennet (D-CO).

This critical piece of legislation supports (organization name)’s efforts to extend home-based primary care services to certain chronically ill and disabled individuals, allowing them to stay in their homes and avoid unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

The IAH ACT builds off of the Independence at Home (IAH) Medicare demonstration,a targeted, proven, bipartisan success backed by decades of evidence that offers the promise of significant savings if converted from a demonstration into the Medicare program.The IAH demonstration was entirely self-funded, covered over 10,000 beneficiaries, and saved over $35 million in just two years.

The IAH ACT would create interdisciplinary teams of physicians, other health care providers, and social services professionals to care for our most fragile elders where they prefer to receive their care – in their own homes. Staying as close to the demonstration as possible, the IAH ACT would expand the IAH demonstration to serve nearly 2 million people who already meet IAH’s strict eligibility criteria.

The time to act is now. Over the next two decades, the number of people age 65 and older will nearly double to more than 72 million, or one in five Americans. Many individuals in this age group will grapple with multiple chronic illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Making this program nationwide providesquality care to elders in their homes, assures their dignity and independence,andsavesmillions of dollars in unnecessary healthcare spending.

Please co-sponsor, S. 3130, the “Independence at Home Act (IAH ACT).”