Advocating for Medicaid Patients

Instructions:

We are reaching out to request your assistance in advocating for improved access to speech-language services covered by Medicaid. Currently, accessing immediate speech and language therapy services for your child can be extremely challenging. At this time, most clinics have a waitlist ranging from 6 to 18 months. These lengthy wait times are primarily due to the extremely low reimbursement rates offered by Medicaid, which forces clinics to limit the number of Medicaid patients they can accommodate in order to sustain operations.

The impact of these challenges directly affects parents like yourself who are seeking services for their children. Therefore, we are seeking your support in approaching your local senator to advocate for increased reimbursement rates for speech therapy services.

Thank you for considering this request and for your support in this matter.

Sincerely,

Full Circle Speech Therapy

Steps:

1.Determine which legislative district you reside in based on the map

2.Email the Senator of your district using the prewritten message

3.Modify the email as needed, or send it as it is

4.Spread the word to other families who are struggling to find services for their child who have Medicaid

We greatly appreciate your help to advocate for better reimbursement rates so we can support ALL children who need our services.

Draft Email

Dear [Recipient],

I am reaching out as a concerned parent and constituent regarding the availability of speech and language therapy services for my child who receives state funding. It has been extremely challenging to secure an appointment due to extensive waitlists at all clinics in my area, with wait times ranging from 6-18 months. These delays have been attributed to the low reimbursement rates from Medicaid, prompting clinics to severely limit the number of Medicaid patients they can accommodate in order to maintain operations.

I am worried that my child is not receiving timely and adequate care, which will negatively impact their development in a variety of ways. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss possible solutions to reduce these prolonged wait times for speech and language therapy services. Can we please schedule a virtual meeting to address this important issue?

Thank you for your attention to this matter.