LTC
Bullet: First LTC Gadfly
Brigade Mobilizes Thursday, April 12, 2007 Seattle-- LTC Comment: To
fix LTC policy, we have to reach the right people:
politicians, policy makers and the media. The Iowa LTC Gadflies have taken up that challenge, after the
***news.*** *** NOTE. We
need your help with this one, folks.
Please forward today's Bullet to friends, colleagues and
competitors (and especially to companies) you think might be willing to
get behind this initiative to promote rational LTC public policy. *** *** SPECIAL APPEAL.
I'm confident everyone will read this Bullet to the very end, but
just in case you don't, here's what you'll find if you do. "To help support the National LTC Consciousness Tour, we
appeal to you for a special targeted contribution to the Center for
Long-Term Care Reform. Give
$100 or more toward this project and we'll publish your name,
credentials, and business affiliation on the Center for Long-Term Care
Reform's website. You'll be listed as a "CLTCR National LTC Consciousness
Tour Guide." Or,
remain anonymous if you'd prefer. Just
let us know." Give
$250 and we'll post your ad on the LTC Blog at www.centerltc.com.
Give $500 and we'll throw in a Bullet sponsorship.
Help us make this project a success. *** *** AARP COPIES CLTCR.
Long after the Center for Long-Term Care Reform announced our
"National LTC Consciousness Tour" with its early focus on
Iowa, AARP began an identical initiative.
Their plan is to compel presidential candidates from both parties
to engage voters on health care and financial security issues, according
to CongressDaily. AARP
is a huge trade association dedicated principally to selling commercial
products profitably to seniors. It
uses its profits, tax benefits, and public monies to push government
toward taxing young people who are struggling financially in order to
fund free benefits of all kinds for prosperous elders, i.e. AARP's
members. What a racket!
AARP has millions of dollars to urge politicians toward policies
which are diametrically opposed to what we advocate and the country
needs. So, reread our
appeal for support of the Center's campaign; pony up if you can.
And remember what David did to Goliath!
With the stone of facts and the sling of logic, we can bring this
giant of hypocrisy down. Or at least, hit him "where it hurts" . . . in the
credibility. *** *** BROKER WORDS ABOUT OUR PROJECT.
In the lead editorial to her magazine's March issue, Broker
World editor Sharon Chace writes at length about the Center's
National Long-Term Care Consciousness Tour. Here's a taste: "The
plan is for Moses and members of the LTC Gadfly Brigade to write op-ed
articles, meet with newspaper editorial boards, and do talk radio.
They will engage politicians and public officials.
They will enlist LTC providers, educate financial planners and
accountants, address estate planning councils, and work with reverse
mortgage lenders. Moses says, 'We will rock the boat but we'll do it
with humor and good will.'" Thanks
for the "shout-out," Sharon. *** LTC BULLET: LTC
GADFLY BRIGADE MOBILIZES IN IOWA LTC Comment: Back
in January, I proposed a plan to get "long-term care on the
political front burner during the coming presidential campaign
season." Read about it
in "LTC Bullet: LTC
Gadflies," January 23, 2007 at http://www.centerltc.com/bullets/archives2007/672.htm. I proposed a national mobilization of grass roots
advocates for rational LTC policy.
Together, we'd ask aspiring politicians the tough personal and
policy questions about paying for LTC.
We'd back up these efforts with letters to the editor and op-ed
articles that I'd help write. No sooner did that proposal hit the blogosphere
than I heard from a public relations expert in Iowa.
He advised: "Don't
wait until 2008 and don't dilute your efforts by going national.
Come to Iowa. That's where all the presidential candidates will be.
And that's where they're most accessible." Made sense to me.
So we launched an appeal to front line LTC troops in Iowa,
including folks in the LTC insurance, provider and reverse mortgage
businesses. Read the call
to action in "LTC Bullet: LTC
Gadflies in Iowa,"
February 1, 2007 at http://www.centerltc.com/bullets/archives2007/675.htm.
A
handful of motivated Iowans showed interest.
They circulated flyers among their colleagues (and competition).
One volunteered a venue for a meeting.
Before long, we had a core group signed up to attend a planning
session in Des Moines. In
"LTC Bullet: National
LTC Consciousness Campaign Begins in Iowa," March 7, 2007 at http://www.centerltc.com/bullets/archives2007/681.htm,
we appealed to Center members for special contributions so I could go to
Iowa, attend the meeting, and suggest some strategies. Several members, who are listed by name and business
affiliation at the top of our "LTC Blog" at www.centerltc.com,
contributed enough to fund my participation. So,
we convened a group of about 20 top-notch experts in a Des Moines suburb
on April 2. They included
LTC insurance marketers, several reverse mortgage specialists, a nursing
home association representative, a Medicaid estate recovery expert, a
public relations executive, and yours truly.
Sincere thanks to Karey Meek-Anderson and Iowa Bankers Insurance
for hosting the event. At
the meeting, we heard a presentation on how to reach presidential
candidates, their staffs, and the media with our questions and proposals
regarding LTC policy. Stay
tuned for a summary of those suggestions.
We learned how Medicaid estate recovery works.
We heard about a new "LTC Guild" forming in Iowa to
bring together professionals concerned about long-term care in a
cooperative and educational setting.
We heard an explanation of reverse mortgages and how they can
help older people fund home care or to afford LTC insurance. Now,
here's the advice Bob Fleming of the PR firm called The Sumo Group gave
us about political policy advocacy: 1.
He knows whereof he speaks having been chief of staff to the
House Majority Leader and having worked in numerous political campaigns
both on behalf of candidates and representing clients such as the
American Cancer Society in pursuit of their public policy objectives. 2.
2008 is a bellwether presidential election. For the first time since 1952, there is no incumbent
President or Vice President running.
Many candidates representing a broad diversity of views are
running or will be running. And
they are very accessible in Iowa! 3.
Unlike other states where the candidates will campaign mostly on
TV, they'll have to do retail politics in Iowa because of the state's
first-in-the-nation "caucus."
The candidates will be in cafes, shopping centers, and all sorts
of venues throughout the state for many months. 4.
They're more approachable now than they will ever be.
Reaching them in person and interjecting our issue, ideas, and
concerns is easy. All you
have to do is show up, ask questions, and document their replies and
policy positions with letters to the editor of your local paper.
Go to campaign events. Visit
the candidates' headquarters and ask to speak with a staffer about
long-term care. 5.
How do you find out where the candidates will be?
Easy. "Stalk
and talk." Check the
newspapers. Visit or email
their campaign headquarters.
Consult www.KCCI.com,
which
publishes their schedules. 6.
It's not just the candidates you can reach. National media, including TV anchors and reporters from
newspapers across the country, will be in Iowa in force.
They'll be looking for new and different issues and angles.
Talk to them. 7.
How should we raise our issue?
Simple. Iowa has the
oldest population in the country. Financing
long-term care is already a big issue and it will get much bigger and
more expensive as the boomer generation ages.
Lead with those facts and ask questions: What do you propose to deal with
the aging of the population? How
will you protect Social Security and Medicare?
How can Americans afford long-term care?
I (Steve) would add: Do
you have long-term care insurance for yourself?
What do you think about people impoverishing themselves to
qualify for Medicaid? How
do you feel about using home equity with "reverse mortgages"
to pay for long-term care? 8.
When asking questions or addressing candidates or the media:
be passionate. That's great. But
don't sound angry. 9.
Is it a waste of time if you know most of the candidates you talk
to will never become President? No.
If they lose, they'll go back to being prominent members of
Congress or maybe Secretary of State or Defense.
And besides, half the battle is getting the issue on the
political and media radar screens, no matter who is elected. I
followed up with this appeal to the Iowa LTC Gadflies: "Bottom
line, folks, this is our chance to make a difference. Give these ideas a try.
Reach out to a candidate. Go
to a campaign event. Visit
a headquarters. Buttonhole
a candidate or staff member and tell him or her how important long-term
care is to you. Write a
letter to the editor. Then, drop me an email and let me know what you've
done. Send a copy of your
letter to the editor so we can share it with others.
My first Iowa letter, to the Des Moines Register, is attached.
(Also published as "LTC E-Alert #7-043:
125,000 LTCI Policies and No Claims Payment Problem, April
5, 2007 at http://www.centerltc.com/members/e-alerts/ltc_ea7-043.htm
in The Zone.) "Finally,
I don't have unlimited time to devote to this project.
If you don't hear from me for extended periods, it will because I
have to make a living too. But keep sending your stories and examples of your activities
and progress and I'll do my best to get the word out to the others.
So, don your Nikes and . . .
Just Do It!" Well
then, friends and supporters, that's where our "National Long-Term
Care Consciousness Campaign" stands as of now.
I'd like to take this initiative to New Hampshire, the other
early-primary state where presidential candidates are flocking and
relatively accessible. But
the Center for Long-Term Care Reform lacks the resources to do very much
pro bono. So, let me
make the same invitation as I did before: To help support the National LTC Consciousness
Tour, we appeal to you for a special targeted contribution to the Center
for Long-Term Care Reform. Give
$100 or more toward this project and we'll publish your name,
credentials, and business affiliation on the Center for Long-Term Care
Reform's website. You'll be listed as a "CLTCR National LTC Consciousness
Tour Guide." Or,
remain anonymous if you'd prefer. Just
let us know. With your help, we can pursue this initiative in
Iowa and New Hampshire this year while the leverage from the earliest
caucus and primary is huge. Then
next year, after the super-primary on February 5 has winnowed the
presidential candidates down to a select few, we'll go national.
We'll target six separate regions of the country, work with local
experts, and target the state and local policy makers, politicians and
media. Who's game? |