| The latest news from and for state health care advocates |
August 2009 |
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In This Issue:
Buzz around the States
The Campaign for Better Health Care is keeping an eye on the media in Illinois.
Nebraska groups hold a Vote YES rally on August 25 to send their members of Congress back to Washington, D.C. to get the job done.
Citizen Action of New York encourages New Yorkers to take action immediately and gives them the tools to do so in their new 10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Help Get Health Reform Passed.
Virginia Organizing Project’s Joe Szakos got arrested in a peaceful effort to get questions answered at Anthem Insurance. The group continues to use the story in their advocacy efforts.
New Jersey Citizen Action canvasses small business owners with a ramped up advocacy effort.
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States in Focus
Connecticut Legislature Overrides Governor to Pass Massive Health Care Reform
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Even with federal reform grabbing so much media attention and a federal bill pending, Connecticut was able to pass a large comprehensive health care reform bill this summer. The passage was a culmination of a long campaign that began in 2006. After putting so much work into state reform, Connecticut advocates decided to push for the best program they could get in their state before waiting to see where federal reform lands. Even if federal reform passes this year, states will continue to play a key role in shaping health care law. |
In the midst of a lively debate on national reform, Connecticut managed to pass Sustinet, a comprehensive state health care reform program. After years of hard work, Connecticut advocates can now celebrate an enormous victory.
The passage this summer marked the culmination of a well-thought-out campaign. The board of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut was dedicated to achieving systematic change in the Connecticut health care system. In June of 2006, they launched the healthcare4every1 Campaign with Lynn Ide as the Campaign Manager. Lynn explained that from the very beginning, the group invested in an organizing strategy by granting organizations to be a part of the campaign. They made sure to engage groups with grassroots organizing capacity, such as labor unions. They also cultivated relationships with other key constituencies, such as the faith community and small businesses.
In order to build a successful campaign, Lynn said that they first wanted to build trust among the groups involved. They took their time to make sure everyone was engaged and invested without rushing forward with a proposal. In 2006, the healthcare4every1 Campaign commissioned the Urban Institute and MIT to outline various proposals that would get to universal coverage while also meeting the principles outlined by the group. To further foster consensus on a proposal that would work for the state, the foundation worked with business community, the medical society, faith leaders, and advocates. The final proposal became known as Sustinet. A broad public education and awareness campaign got underway in 2008, and in early 2009 they launched Sustinet with the support of the legislature.
To get the bill through the legislature, the campaign relied on techniques such as online advocacy and organizing to compile a list of 45,000 supporters. The foundation also cultivated some new partnerships with the doctor's association, AARP, and American Cancer Society. This well-planned and well-timed strategy resulted in the passage of a great piece of legislation that Lynn Ide calls "Obama Ready," meaning it can be adapted and can interact with possible federal reform.
Summer Heats Up in the States
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The recess has been a very exciting and busy time for advocates. For many groups, increased turnout at events, more canvassing and phone banking, and a call for more earned media has characterized August. But as members of Congress return to work in September, it is not the time to let up. Groups should build on the August momentum to move full speed ahead. |
New Mexico
Hit the phones. Hit the doors. Spread the message about health care reform. That’s the mantra of Health Action New Mexico and their partners organizing in support of health care reform in New Mexico this summer. In order to gear up for the August recess and get as much work done as possible, several groups in New Mexico fighting for health care reform hosted a TIMEraiser in an effort to recruit volunteers. Their creative idea worked! With over 50 volunteers committed to around 500 hours of volunteer time, New Mexico advocates are in a good place to get out the truth about reform.
Wisconsin
As health care advocates around the country are facing the unique challenge of countering health reform attacks, some groups have figured out how to face their opponents and move on. Citizen Action of Wisconsin is doing a particularly good job. Robert Kraig, Director of Program, explained that they are emphasizing local turnout as well as bringing in buses to more rural events. Members of his coalition in Wisconsin are also organizing many stand alone events where organizers can have more control. As members of Congress plan their town halls, Robert is working with them on strategies that would downplay disruptors, such as sharing the stage with respected members of the community. In addition to heavy turn out to Democrats’ town halls, Wisconsin activists are also attending Republicans’ events to make sure all members of their delegation know where they stand on reform.
Minnesota
Chris Conroy, an organizer with Take Action Minnesota, reports that the strong Minnesota coalition is upping their activity with increased canvassing and media releases. Like groups around the country, Take Action MN and their coalition partners are working hard to increase turnout for town hall events. At one town hall, Conroy says, not only did they pack the venue with pro-reform advocates, but they also lined the streets leading up to the event with people carrying signs in support of reform. This is a great tactic because, Chris explains, everyone attending the event—whether they are supportive of reform or not—notices their presence. For the August recess, the group plans to increasing earned media activities and story collection efforts.
Inspiring Story: Americans Want Reform
Chris Conroy also had this amazing story to share about health reform organizing in Western Minnesota. The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation sent some representatives to a Game Fair in Western Minnesota to collect health reform letters. A Game Fair is a fair for vendors to sell merchandise to hunters and fishermen. The attendees are mostly conservative and usually not happy with unions being present at all. But the union reps brought with them the popular arcade and bar game Big Buck Hunter, in which players shoot deer on a screen with a toy gun. The union representatives told people at the fair that they would let them play a round of the game for free if they wrote a letter to Senator Amy Klobuchar about health care reform. By the end of the fair, 296 people had handwritten letters to Senator Klobuchar. AND 291 of those letters were pro-reform.
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Town Halls Gone Wild: Follow these Tips
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As the August recess is coming to a close, many of you have your own best practices. Overall, we have heard that turning out in droves and staying civil and calm have been very successful. Follow our five best tips to have a successful town hall meeting! |
Death Panels. Euthanasia. Socialized Medicine. Nonsense! The opponents of reform are disrupting town halls by intimidating constituents and invoking fear. Town hall meetings are an important part of democracy. It’s time to take back control from these rude disruptors and restore respect for this time-honored tradition.
As an advocate, you have organized and attended many town halls, but the tactics of raucous disruption and the vicious spreading of lies are new. Fortunately, in the last few weeks, many groups have put together helpful tips to help you take back town hall meetings. Here are our top five:
- It’s all about the turnout. Flood town halls with supporters of health care reform. Arrive early, sit in the front, and be visible. The best way to beat these crashers is to show that they are the minority. Americans support reform.
- Get to the media. Make sure the media hears from your side. Assign people to approach the media and have a plan for talking points and discrediting disruptors.
- Set ground rules. Talk to organizers of the event beforehand about setting ground rules at the beginning of the meeting that encourage attendees to be civil.
- Help spread the word. Bring video cameras to the events. These town hall disruptions have gone viral. Make sure to catch the crashers’ lies and horrid tactics on tape to expose them for what they are!
- Stay civil. Use this pledge created by Families USA to set the tone when people arrive and promote civility and encourage attendees to engage in a truly democratic meeting. You can also encourage attendees to peacefully hold up signs that read “Civil Debate Please.” If a majority of the audience holds up their petitions or signs when a radical naysayer gets out of hand, the visual impact will be extremely dramatic.
If you have other techniques that you have found useful, please feel free to share them on the Share Your Creative Strategies page of the August Recess Tool Kit.
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When attackers of health reform are spewing nonsense, sometimes it’s hard not just to laugh. But we need to always remember that there are a lot of people out there who are confused and frightened about these lies and rumors. So, use these responses to quickly respond to the attack and pivot to the positive. | |
New Resources from Families USA
Recess Tools
New Talking Points
What would you like to see in the State Health Beat? Contact Lydia Gottesfeld to share your thoughts and opinions.
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