Front Line Caregivers from 16 States to Visit Capitol Hill to Urge State Congressional Delegation to Reject Medicare Cuts that Could Threaten Quality Care in Nation's Nur...( April 2nd Capitol Hill Fly-In to ...),Health

April 2nd Capitol Hill Fly-In to Raise Profile of Medicare Cuts in Election Year

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tomorrow, ( April 2nd), front line long term caregivers from around the nation will meet with their lawmakers on Capitol Hill about pending threats to Medicare-financed nursing home funding, and how that would impact their elderly constituents' care needs. The Coalition to Protect Senior Care said the group representing over a dozen key organizations with members in all 50 states and the District of Columbia will step up its state-focused advocacy efforts as the 2008 election draws closer.

Certified Nurse Assistants from 16 states across the country, including AZ, FL, IL, KY, GA, NM, CO, OH, MO, PA, AR, WA, VA, MI, KS and RI, who provide care to residents, will be available for media interviews as scheduled.

"With our federal lawmakers having just returned from their Easter work period, and assessing how their votes and actions in Washington are impacting the well-being and livelihoods of their oldest, most vulnerable constituents, we are stepping up our advocacy efforts commensurate with the growing threat of ill-conceived Medicare cuts," stated Lisa Cantrell, a co-founder of the National Association of Health Care Assistants, and a national spokesperson for the Coalition to Protect Senior Care.

"With just seven months until the 2008 elections, America's front line caregiver community intends to help focus citizen and elected official alike on the need to protect the funding that protects our oldest, sickest seniors. In the next several weeks and months, lawmakers will have choices to make in regard to health care spending priorities, and we will actively comment on key votes in an objective, non partisan manner," she continued. The Coalition recently praised the efforts of U.S. Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Susan Collins (R-ME), and U.S. Reps. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Shelley Moore Capi
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