Your Voice, Your Vote: Why Elections Matter to the Infusion Community

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

Advocacy takes many forms. It can mean meeting with lawmakers, responding to an action alert, sharing the challenges facing your infusion center, or helping policymakers understand what their decisions mean for your patients.

It can also mean participating in an election.

Voting is one of the most direct ways to participate in government. For infusion providers, it is an opportunity to have a voice in choosing the policymakers who will make decisions affecting the sustainability of community-based infusion care, healthcare access, and patient affordability.

This resource is intended to help NICA members understand why voting matters to the infusion community, how elected officials at different levels of government can influence healthcare policy, and what steps they can take to prepare to vote in the 2026 election. 

Note: the following resource is non-partisan. We are not telling members who to support. Our goal is to make sure infusion providers have the information they need to participate, understand what is on their ballot, and make their own informed decisions.

Get Vote Ready with NICA

NICA’s Voter Ready Center can help you prepare for Election Day. Use it to check your voter registration, see the candidates and races on your ballot, identify your current elected officials, and review important voting deadlines.

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Voting and Advocacy Are Connected

Throughout the year, NICA works to educate policymakers about the issues affecting infusion providers and their patients. We meet with members of Congress and state lawmakers, engage regulators, submit comments on proposed policies, and help NICA members share what they are experiencing in their communities.

Elections determine who occupies the offices NICA interacts with on a daily basis.

Even if you never attend a Hill Day, meet with a legislator, or respond to an advocacy campaign, participating at the ballot box gives you a role in deciding who will be responsible for addressing public policy issues over the years ahead. That includes issues NICA is already working on and challenges that have not yet emerged.

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Why the Full Ballot Matters

In 2026, all 435 U.S. House seats and 35 U.S. Senate seats are up for election. Congress shapes issues that directly affect infusion providers and patients, including Medicare payment, provider reimbursement, drug pricing, and other federal healthcare policies.

State races matter, too. Voters in 46 states will elect 6,139 legislators across 88 state legislative chambers. State lawmakers make decisions involving Medicaid, state-regulated insurance, scope of practice, licensure, facility requirements, and other policies affecting community-based care.

Voters will also decide 36 state governorships. Governors influence healthcare policy through budgets, agency leadership, appointments, executive priorities, and their role in approving or vetoing legislation.

Together, these races help determine who will shape healthcare policy at both the federal and state levels. That is why it is important to look beyond the most prominent race and understand what is on your entire ballot.

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Sometimes the Margin Really Is That Small

With thousands or millions of people participating in an election, it can be tempting to assume that one ballot cannot make much difference.

Some elections offer a useful reminder that margins can be much smaller than we expect.

In 2020, the race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District went through a recount in all 24 counties. The final certified result was 196,964 votes to 196,958, a difference of just 6 votes.

The lesson is not about either candidate. It is that elections determine who serves in public office, and occasionally that decision comes down to only a handful of ballots.

More broadly, elections determine who gets to make decisions when events we cannot predict occur. Healthcare challenges, economic conditions, emergencies, and new policy debates will continue to arise throughout an official’s term. Participating in an election is one opportunity to have a say in who will be responsible for making those decisions.

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Get Vote Ready

You do not need to wait until November 3 to prepare.

NICA encourages members to take three simple steps now:

1. Check your voter registration. Confirm that you are registered and that your information is current.
2. Know what’s on your ballot. Review the federal, state, and local races you will be voting on and learn about the candidates. Local news organizations and other nonpartisan voter resources can be useful places to find information about candidates and their stated policy positions.
3. Know when, where, and how you plan to vote. Registration deadlines, early and mail-voting options, identification requirements, and polling locations vary by state. Checking those details ahead of time can help you avoid last-minute surprises.

The 2026 general election is November 3, but the specific deadlines and voting options available to you depend on where you live.

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NICA Is Making It Easier to Prepare

To help members get vote ready, NICA has developed a Voter Ready Center that brings several pieces of election information together in one place.

Members can use the resource to:

• Check whether they are registered to vote
• See candidates and races on their ballot
• Find out who currently represents them
• Review important voting deadlines

Please share this resource with colleagues and staff who want to prepare for Election Day.

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Make Your Voice Part of the Process

Infusion providers see firsthand how healthcare policy translates from legislation and regulation into day-to-day patient care. Voting is one more way to participate in that process.

Check your registration. Learn what’s on your ballot. Make your plan for November 3.