Correspondence Examples

SAMPLE CALL SCRIPT

The following script illustrates how to correspond by phone with members of the Maryland General Assembly’s sta . When you are asked to call regarding speci c pieces of legislation, the Maryland Hospital Association can provide you with the necessary details and a sample script.

Note: It is critical to build good relationships and communicate e ectively with legislative sta —the people who support lawmakers—as they brief elected o cials about an issue and advise on what their position should be. Hello, I am a constituent of [insert legislator’s name].

My name is [insert name], and I live at [full address] and work at [if hospital employee or clinician, name the hospital].

I’m calling to urge the Senator/Delegate to support/oppose [name of the bill or speci c issue] because [brie y tell your personal story].

Please respond to me by email at [your email address] or by phone at [insert phone number] to explain how you plan to address this matter.

Thank you for your attention.

All of Maryland’s acute care hospitals

delivering high-quality health care and improving the health of all Marylanders.

SAMPLE LETTER

The following is an example The following letter illustrates of written testimony an example of how to from MHA. Adding facts, correspond with members of references, and details about the Maryland General a bill’s speci c impact Assembly. strengthen written testimony. When you are asked to write If you intend to write regarding speci c legislation, regarding speci c legislation, the Maryland Hospital the Maryland Hospital Association can provide you Association can provide you with the necessary details and with the necessary details and a sample reference letter. sample written testimony. Honorable Chair and Vice Chair _________

[Committee Name]

Address City, State, Zip

[Bill Number-Title]

Position: Support

Dear [Chair and Members of the Committee]:

I’m writing to you today in support of HB123/SB3, the Preserve Telehealth Access Act of 2021. [Insert personal information, where you live, where you work, why

this is important to you.]

As COVID-19 led many Marylanders to stay home, hospitals and doctors rushed to embrace the long-available but underused tool of telehealth—delivering health care remotely to keep both patients and providers safe. Emergency federal and state waivers freed hospitals and health systems to ramp up telehealth quickly. Telehealth during this period was universally supported by patients and by hospital caregivers. They recognized that even beyond times of crisis, telehealth broadens access to care, improves patient outcomes and satisfaction, and chips away at long-standing health inequities. These bene ts must continue beyond federal and state health emergencies. .

To help, I ask you to support the Preserve Telehealth Access Act. This bill ensures the extension of four policy changes that continue to remove barriers to telehealth during COVID-19: • Eases restrictions on originating and distant sites, meaning that both providers and patients have greater discretion on the most appropriate physical location to hold their telehealth appointment • Allows for reimbursement parity between in-person and telehealth services • Acknowledges value of health care services delivered via audio only modalities, especially to vulnerable and underserved populations with internet and technology challenges—the communities most likely to have limited health care access • Removes barriers to coverage for remote patient monitoring services, so providers can identify health issues and intervene before they escalate and require emergency care

[Insert any data available regarding patient experience and satisfaction, and health outcomes].

This bill brings Maryland in line with neighboring jurisdictions that passed legislation to ensure access to necessary health care, regardless of the modality through which it is delivered.

Backing away could leave thousands of Marylanders without care: we need long-term solutions to permanently remove barriers to deliver safe, reliable care via telehealth to all Marylanders, wherever they are. Support the Preserve Telehealth Access Act. I urge the committee’s favorable report on HB123-SB3 Preserve Telehealth Access Act, with amendments con rmed by the Maryland Hospital Association.

Sincerely,

[Name] [Email contact]

SAMPLE WRITTEN TESTIMONY

The following is an example The following is an example of written testimony of written testimony from MHA. Adding facts, from MHA. Adding facts, references, and details about references, and details about a bill’s speci c impact a bill’s speci c impact strengthen written testimony. strengthen written testimony. If you intend to write If you intend to write regarding speci c legislation, regarding speci c legislation, the Maryland Hospital the Maryland Hospital Association can provide you Association can provide you with the necessary details and with the necessary details and sample written testimony. sample written testimony.

Senate Bill 407 - Health Occupations - Health Care Sta ng Shortage

Emergency - Declaration and Licensing and Practice Requirements (Health Care Heroes Act of 2022)

Position: Support

[Date]

Senate Finance Committee On behalf of the Maryland Hospital Association’s (MHA) 60 member hospitals and health systems, we appreciate the opportunity to comment in support of Senate Bill 407, the Health Care Heroes Act of 2022. Our hospital heroes have been there for Marylanders, serving more than 700 days on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re coming out of what was perhaps the most harrowing month of this public health crisis since its earliest days. In January, there were more new cases of COVID-19 than in the previous 10 months combined. A spike in hospitalizations—2,603 COVID inpatients per day on average—pushed hospitals and their already overburdened workforces beyond limits. As a result, 15 hospitals, one-third of the state’s acute care hospitals, were compelled to operate under crisis standards of care. Workforce shortages are at crisis levels with a staggering 50% jump in hospital nurse vacancies in just ve months. That means fewer caregivers at the bedside, limiting capacity to care for patients, both those with COVID-19 and those having other serious conditions such as cancer.

At the moment, the so-called Omicron wave is subsiding. Most hospitals that adopted crisis standards of care have moved to contingency standards of care. But this surge—the fth since the pandemic began two years ago—will not be the last. Hospitals are bracing for the next one. The collision of another surge with our persistent sta ng shortages could once again place hospitals in critical condition. That will threaten the health of all Marylanders. It need not be so. SB 407 will provide a way for the Maryland health secretary to declare a health care sta ng emergency in certain circumstances. Such a declaration would trigger the licensure exibilities that are crucial to hospitals’ ability to care for Marylanders. During earlier surges, similar provisions freed thousands of practitioners—from nursing students to those who live in other states or had expired or soon-to-expire licenses—to step up in our hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. It was a lifeline. These Maryland heroes have put caring for their neighbors rst throughout this pandemic. Now they need relief a orded by the Health Care Heroes Act of 2022. We urge a favorable report.