ACTION REQUEST:  Call your Members of Congress and urge them to oppose cuts to the Medicare Part B Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule as they work to address physician pay cuts (otherwise called the sustainable growth rate or SGR).  Tell them to contact the conferees working on this negotiation.  If your Member or Senator is a conferee ask for their help in defeating any proposal to cut Medicare lab services. 

BACKGROUND:  A proposal being considered for congressional action and passage this week would add an additional cut to Medicare laboratory services.  This cut would be on top of significant laboratory cuts already in place from the health reform law and the threats lab face for additional budget costs next year due to sequestration. 

THE PROCESS: 

1. If you already know who your Member of Congress and your two Senators are, call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected.
2. If you do not know who your Member in the House of Representatives is click here: http://www.house.gov/ and enter your zip code in the top right hand corner of the page.
3. If you do not know who your two Senators are click here: http://www.senate.gov/ and use the drop down box in the top right hand corner to select your state.  Please contact both of your Senators!
4. When you are connected to the office ask to speak to the Health Legislative Assistant.  If you are connected directly to the staffer, please introduce yourself and be prepared to explain the issue from the talking points document and the notes below.  If you are connected to the staffer’s voicemail introduce yourself and be sure to leave your contact information clearly in the message; you should also outline the issue.  

THE MESSAGE:  Please use the bullet points below and the talking points document to develop a personalized message for your Members of Congress.  Be prepared to speak to a staffer in your Representative and Senators’ offices about these key issues. 

• I work for (name of lab) laboratory in (city, state), an independent clinical laboratory serving (approximate number of Medicare beneficiaries) annually.
• I am calling to express my strong opposition to additional cuts to the Medicare Part B Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule. 
• Clinical laboratory testing is less than 2 percent of all Medicare spending, yet has been subject to significant freezes in payments and cuts over the last decade.   

Using Twitter to Contact your Members of Congress 

Twitter is a great and effective way to communicate to your Members of Congress immediately. Most Congressional Twitter accounts are monitored closely by either the Member or a high-level staffer. Using Twitter allows you to bypass the intern at the front desk or the health staffer's voicemail.  

Using Twitter is easy - if you aren't already on there, go to www.twitter.com to sign up. You will create a Twitter name - or "handle" as it's call - and that's how you communicate with others on Twitter. When you want to tweet directly to someone, you begin your tweet with their handle. For example: 

@SpeakerBoehner Please oppose clinical lab cuts as part of the pay-for of the doc fix. Seniors need labs! #saveourlabs 

One of the popular features of Twitter is the "hashtag" - it's a way of branding your tweet and creating a searchable campaign that will garner more attention. We've created a simple one for these lab cuts - #saveourlabs. Make sure you use #saveourlabs on the end of any tweet you send to a Member or friends related to the lab cuts.  

There are 228 Republican Senators and Representatives on Twitter and 157 Democrat Senators and Representatives. The easiest way to find them is to search on Twitter but most Members of Congress advertise their Twitter feed right on their home page. Once you find your Members' Twitter "handle," simply tweet to him or her by writing a tweet that begins with their Twitter handle.  

Remember to leave your contact information!

Good luck, and please keep NILA informed about your contacts and any responses that you get.