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Capitol

Taking the Pulse of Health Care Policy

Written by Matthew Porter on . Posted in Positioning Issues and Brands, Elevating Reputations.

In the world of health care public relations, we are tasked with staying up to date with industry trends, elevating reputations and developing earned media plans. As a Washington D.C.-based agency, we have the advantage of being close to policy action so we can keep tabs on what our clients need to know about the fast-moving developments in health care. Here are the top issues we are watching this fall from Congress and the White House, and why they are worth paying attention to.

Drug Pricing

After years of promising to reduce drug costs, Congress is poised to take policy action, launching at least nine bills that take aim at pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) or companies that channel prescription drugs to patients. Elsewhere, The White House, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, made a historic move in announcing the ten drugs selected for price negotiation under the law. This is the first-ever direct drug-price negotiations between pharmaceutical manufacturers and Medicare, and it would have far-reaching implications in reducing costs and expanding the availability of medicines that are crucial for America’s seniors.

Drug Shortages

Significant and dangerous medication shortages have surfaced in recent months, with more than 300 prescription drugs, including critical chemotherapy treatments, being in short supply. The situation is forcing almost 60% of health systems to ration or even postpone care. Congress is considering several policies including a GOP-led effort aimed at enforcing accountability in the drug market by improving transparency and mandating the provision of additional information about manufacturing and distribution. Additionally, The Senate Subcommittee on Health is also poised to consider a bipartisan proposal known as The Drug Shortage Prevention Act that would require producers of prescription drugs to notify the FDA as soon as they anticipate being unable to meet the demand.

Pandemic Preparedness

With the fall season of respiratory illnesses upon us, Congress is also considering how to bolster the public health system to anticipate the inevitable return of the flu, RSV and COVID-19. By October, The Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act expires and requires re-authorization. The act is the backbone of the nation’s public health response, as it accelerates public-private partnerships to develop vaccines and take other actions. Additionally, both chambers of Congress are taking up policy measures to support emergency response and pandemic preparedness. Elsewhere, The White House took action by announcing the appointment of Dr. Paul Friedrichs, a retired Air Force combat surgeon who helped execute the Pentagon’s COVID response, to head the new White House Pandemic Office. He will oversee efforts to fund vaccine development in time to meet these challenges.

Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2023

The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act was recently reintroduced in the House and Senate and will have far-reaching impact if passed. The bipartisan bill would authorize an expansion of Medicare coverage to include screening and treatment of obesity from providers who specialize in obesity care and include coverage of behavioral counseling, prescription drugs for long-term weight manage. The passage of TROA would be a key catalyst to expanding access to obesity treatment across the board, and therefore, improve the health of millions of Americans.

The future for all these important issues remains highly unpredictable, along with proposals effecting Medicaid, health care price transparency and mental health.  One thing that is certain, however, is that The Reis Group will be following all this very closely to make sure our clients are well positioned to succeed.

Capitol

Communications Solutions to 2023 Advocacy Challenges

Written by Stacy Skelly on . Posted in Increasing Awareness.

As a public relations agency serving medical societies, foundations and health care leaders, The Reis Group often helps clients with earned media and thought-leadership strategies to support their national and state-level advocacy goals. And, for me, having spent the better part of my career at the nexus of communications and policy, I love tackling these efforts side by side with my clients.

Sadly, most Americans consistently give our U.S. health care a failing grade, and they yearn for a path forward to better care. Here in D.C., we see that intense national interest in health care bubbling up with fiery debates in our deeply divided Congress. At the same time, policy and health care leaders at the state and local levels across the nation are grasping for solutions.

Despite these deep-seeded challenges, there are opportunities to create lasting change. In fact, I see three strategies that communicators can use to drive successful state and national activism in 2023:

Enhance your campaign with message testing. The best advocacy campaigns start with an understanding of which messages resonate with your intended audience. Many clients come to us seeking to influence health care leaders or policymakers, but they haven’t ever heard directly from these leaders to understand their motivations. Knowing how specific language can appeal to or dissuade them is key to moving the needle.

Creating that customized approach is part of our proven, iterative TRG methodology to message testing. With this process, we recently helped a foundation client refine its advocacy message for health care providers, health-system executives and thought leaders. Through a set of 16 interviews, conducted in three rounds, we were able to define three tailored message platforms. We learned how each group preferred a similar, but slightly tweaked, version of the same information to help them push for health care strategies that focus on the whole person, not just an individuals’ acute illness or disease.

Capitalize on legislative action to drive earned media coverage. Coordinate closely with your government relations teams. They are on the ground and know when an important bill is about to move out of committee or on to a floor vote. Staying connected also helps when key policy announcements are coming from federal agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

We’ve seen this close coordination work for a medical society that ensures federal and state policy supports their clinician members in providing the best possible care for patients. With advanced knowledge, we have developed quick statements and offered reporters early access to their subject matter experts to secure media coverage that advocates for enhanced access to life-saving treatments.

Reach lawmakers where they live. The political saying remains true: “all politics is local.” When you know which lawmakers you want to reach, you can target your efforts to the their local communities, most effectively by placing a commentary in a local paper or landing a key earned media placement. These successes are sometimes more impactful than even a big national hit.

We know that members of Congress and state and local policymakers pay very close attention to their local news outlets. We recently worked with one of our foundation clients to land an editorial in an influential newspaper. As a result of that story, a local government official reached out to the foundation to learn more about their recent research and to find ways to develop statewide wellness programs aligned to foundation goals.

Communications remains the most powerful tool for change. That’s why so many of us at TRG are deeply passionate about what we do. As 2023 unfolds, we look forward to an eventful, productive year supporting policy work already in motion, along with new opportunities to come.

Thriving in an Uncertain Health Care Environment | O’Dwyer’s

Written by Staff on . Posted in Firm Culture.

The unpredictable policy seesaw we are experiencing with the new Administration and Congress appears to be having a tangible impact on the lives of health care communications professionals, and not just those focused on policy.

To learn more about how the uncertain health care environment is affecting workloads and to understand how communications experts are preparing for 2018, Sharon and Tamara surveyed members of the Public Relations Society of America and shared their findings in the October 2017 issue of O’Dwyer’s magazine.

Below are five key areas to focus on in the coming year.

  • Grow your organization’s social media presence
  • Prepare to respond to emerging issues
  • Build content-marketing expertise
  • Seek new groups to partner with on outreach
  • Do more with limited resources
Download the full article and find out if your team is ready to meet the new demands.

 

>>Learn more about Sharon and Tamara and drop them a hello here.

How to Build Effective Coalitions That Advance Your Health Care Cause

Written by Sharon Reis on . Posted in Building Credibility.

Whether you are promoting new scientific findings, advocating for a profession, advancing legislation or trying to change behavior, it takes a group of people working together to have a sustained influence. But finding ways to effectively collaborate as a team can be challenging. As Henry Ford said, “Coming together is a beginning; Keeping together is progress; Working together is success.”

Below are takeaways that are relevant for groups considering forming or joining a coalition to advance a cause.

  1. Find common ground and language through careful messaging research. Groups often come together because they agree an issue is important. More often than not, though, they do not agree on how to talk about it. In fact, they often disagree passionately. Market research can help address individual concerns and find the common ground and the precise language to address each organization’s worries, avoid turf issues and allay fears in an unbiased and data-driven way, all while keeping everyone focused on the main goal.
  2. Increasing awareness of an issue has to be emotion- and science-based. To achieve your goals, you will need to influence perceptions and discussions to include science and emotionally resonant personal stories to attract attention and motivate audiences to act.
  3. The issue and the ask need to be specific. Sometimes coalitions form for a general purpose and can get bogged down in politics. While coalition members won’t agree on everything, they need to remain in sync on the core issue. Being able to focus on one issue with such unanimity will ensure you do not get caught up in organizations’ differing priorities outside of the coalition.
  4. The consumer voice is powerful. It isn’t enough to talk about your point of view and simply explain the science or the rational thinking behind your perspective. Instead, it is critical to focus on putting a face to the issue and concentrate on the direct impact your goals will have upon the lives of real people in real communities.
  5. Allow organizations to tackle topics and activities on their own. Identifying specific areas of agreement is what will make the coalition successful. Recognizing in advance that there will be areas where you will be unable to find common ground is crucial. You will need to agree to disagree. Focus on working together in one area and then allow individual organizations to undertake efforts with their own perspective on related issues. Doing so will increase engagement among each organization’s individual constituencies.
  6. Honest, constructive conversations are a must. Having a group of smart, passionate people together sometimes can lead to heated discussions. A capable and credible leader within a coalition needs to play a mediator role and maintain a high level of professionalism.
  7. Building trust among the diverse groups is essential. To do so, everyone’s interests must be fairly represented and given sufficient attention. Convene regular calls and in-person coalition meetings to provide forums to share insights and opinions and build relationships.

Coalitions are a great way to work together to achieve goals and they offer many benefits–when structured correctly. Sharing resources, bringing passionate, diverse voices together, creating a force behind an issue and sharing successes with a team can be professionally and personally rewarding.

This article was originally published by PR News.

How to Stay Informed and Ahead of the Political Game

Written by Kathleen Petty on . Posted in Increasing Awareness.

The dizzying pace of change in the Washington health policy climate under a new administration presents unpredictable challenges for those of us working in health care communications. Rapid-paced executive orders and seemingly contradictory announcements can create a chaotic information environment.

But as communicators, we can’t let this hold us back from doing what we do best. We must be prepared for anything that could impact our clients. And that’s why, even if we don’t work specifically in public affairs, it is important to stay on top of the swirl of news coming not only from the White House, but from the Hill as well. I’ve outlined here a few tactics that have been helpful for me in navigating the political landscape:

Closely Follow the Issues that Matter to Your Clients

In public relations, we are surrounded by news, whether it’s CNN playing in our offices eight hours a day or regularly monitoring The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other sites. However, it’s important to make sure that you prioritize the topics and issues that your clients care about. For hospital or health system clients, for example, start your day scanning health care outlets and sign up for email subscriptions from sites like STAT or Kaiser Health News. This way, you’ll always be on top of the most important health care news of the day and will be prepared if there is any breaking news that could impact your client.

Subscribe to Political Email Blasts

Subscribing to specific issue-oriented email blasts is a great way to stay informed of industry news, but now that we have a new administration and new majorities in Congress, it is important to touch all bases. One of the best ways to do this is to subscribe to POLITICO or The Hill newsletters and email blasts. These allow you to choose which topics are most important. They provide a narrow lens so that you can cut through the noise and focus on what matters to your clients, such as policy developments in areas including energy, cybersecurity, finance, and education.

Draft a Weekly Policy News Round-up

Another way to help your clients stay informed of relevant issues is to write a weekly round-up of specific industry news, with a focus on congressional actions or influence. Even if there isn’t a piece of legislation up for a vote that week, Congress holds hearings and briefings on many issues, or makes statements about plans for legislation. No matter what, there’s bound to be a good amount of relevant political news for your clients every week. It can be very helpful to gather all of that into one source for your clients. When I’ve done this in the past, our clients valued it. In fact, our weekly listserv newsletter grew to over 200 people and we were consistently reminded of how much our clients relied on it.

Follow Congressional Leaders on Twitter

More and more, senators and representatives are using Twitter to communicate with the public. Following legislators from committees that are pertinent to your clients could help you receive important policy updates as soon as they happen, which will allow you and your clients to respond sooner rather than later.

Taking these actions will help you stay ahead of the political chaos and make you all the more valuable to your clients.