Washington Days 2010
On February 24-25, 2010, six people representing Georgia's bleeding disorder community traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby for passage of health insurance reform. Trish Dominic, HoG's CEO; Jeff Cornett, Director of Training, Research, and Advocacy; Vic McCarty, Director of Development; and Michelle Fitzwater, Managed Care Contract Specialist, were joined by HoG clients Danny C. and Nick B.
The trip was part of the National Hemophilia Foundation's Washington Days, which this year drew almost 300 participants from around the country to talk to members of Congress about the needs of our community. The HoG group was successful in getting meetings with the staff of six of the thirteen Georgia congressmen and both senators. They were also able to speak to a seventh congressman, John Lewis, as he walked to the Capitol.
The responses of the congressmen mirrored their final votes on the bill -- all of Georgia's Republican congressman voted against health insurance reform. Four Democrats voted for the bill (Sanford Bishop, John Lewis, Hank Johnson, and David Scott) and two voted against (John Barrow and Jim Marshall). Both of Georgia's Republican senators voted against the health insurance reform bill. According to Jeff Cornett, the Republicans pushed an alternative bill that mainly consisted of two parts—setting up high risk insurance pools and allowing insurance companies to sell health plans across state lines. The Georgia group explained that neither approach meets the needs of people with hemophilia, who are excluded from the individual insurance market by companies who don't want to pay the high cost of factor. Danny and Nick explained what it was like to have hemophilia and how it impacted their lives. "I was impressed with how well they told their stories," said Jeff Cornett, "and was disappointed that so many of our congressmen were opposed to making changes to the health insurance system."