What do the Birth Center Bill and the Tour de France have in common?

Just like the Tour de France has 20 stages in the race and is a test of endurance, passage of the Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act (H.R.2358/S.1423) requires endurance and perseverance at many stages.

To date we have accomplished much:

• Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act introduced in the House (H.R.2358) and the Senate (S.1423)
• List of bill co-sponsors continues to grow.
• In Health Care Reform our bill is included in passage of 3 House Committees and the Senate Finance Committee.

The Health Care Reform Process

In the Senate

• The Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over Medicaid programs and has included our legislation in their bill.
• The Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee did not take action on our bill because they have no jurisdiction over the Medicaid program.
• The leadership of both Committees is working to combine their bills into one package for a vote on the Senate floor.

In the House

• The Rules Committee is in the process of combining all three of the Committee actions into one bill for a vote on the House floor.

CRITICAL NEXT STEPS

Educate your Senator on the HELP Committee to support inclusion of S.1423 "The Birth Center Medicaid Reimbursement Act" in the Senate package.

Call your U.S. Senators. Click here for directions on how to contact your Senators' health care legislative assistants.

Download "Medicaid - Why guarantee payment to birth centers?" for talking points and to give to your Senators.

After you have made your calls, please call or email AABC's lobbyist Karen Fennell and tell her who you talked with and any comments or additional information requested. Call Karen at 301-830-3910; Send email to karenfennell50@yahoo.com. This report to Karen is important so that she can follow-up.

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