In each edition, we'll feature an action, victory, campaign, or interesting tactic shared by a state advocate. Send us your updates.

State-based organizations have made public education a top priority in the months after the passage of the Affordable Care Act. It was clear during the legislative campaign that high levels of confusion about the actual content of the law contributed to weakening levels of support. And four months later, polling data indicate that many are still unsure how the new law will benefit them. Fortunately, findings from the Herndon Alliance also suggest that once people understand the new law and how it will affect them, they are more likely to support it.

The work to educate the public is more important than ever and now is the time to ramp up these education efforts. Congress is home for the August recess, September 23 represents an important six month milestone since the passage of the new law, and a tough election looms in November. But because the health care law is long, complex, and, well, a little confusing, finding the right ways to educate the public has been a real challenge for advocates—especially because the bulk of implementation work is in the hands of the states, and the resources to do this work have become scarce.

To help you learn from your colleagues across the country, we checked in with more than a dozen states to learn what has worked and what hasn’t over the past few months. We then compiled our findings in this special edition of the State Health Beat, which focuses on two public education campaign models: community forums and Train-the-Trainer programs. This Beat features success stories, downloadable tools, and links to additional resources that will help you develop or strengthen a successful public education campaign in your state.

If you want to learn more about what is happening in one of the states below or have something to share about a public education program in your state, please contact us at stateinfo@familiesusa.org.

Community Forums
These community events are the “meat and potatoes” of a public education campaign. Direct-to-consumer education events can either be your main strategy or the end result of the Train-the-Trainer model. Community events can serve as an important tool to educate the general public and engage your partner organizations and are often a great hook for generating positive media attention.

Train-the-Trainer
This second public education model offers a unique opportunity to educate, train, and mobilize leaders around the new health care law. Participants can become spokespeople, advocates, and educators on implementation across your state. The section below provides best practices from states across the country for finding the best presentation style for leaders, building confidence and keeping people engaged after the training.

Beat of the Month
This month, we learn that learning the best practices of public education around the health care law is "easy as 123... or as simple as do re mi...."

Sharing Across the States: Strategies for Public Education is our PDF version of this special edition State Health Beat. Feel free to print it out as a handy guide!