| The latest news from and for state health care advocates |
February 2012
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In each edition, we'll feature an action, victory, campaign, or interesting tactic shared by a state advocate. Send us your updates. |
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In This Issue:
Buzz around the States
Advocates at the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative are collecting stories as part of their “Thanks Obamacare” campaign. They are hoping to roll out stories online throughout March. Click here for their story collection page. If you want to send out an email, you can contact Serena Woods at serena@cohealthinitiative.org for email language.
Vermont advocates landed great press coverage about their efforts to improve transparency, disclosure, and regulation of health insurer practices. Despite widespread opposition, they are working to harness broad public support for a bipartisan bill that would require insurance companies to report claims-denial data to the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration.
On Valentine’s Day, Virginia advocates gathered in Richmond to tell their legislators that they broke their hearts by pursuing a conservative social agenda, attacking voting rights, and protecting tax loopholes for the wealthy. Their day of action included delivering broken heart chocolate boxes to legislators and lining the walk from the General Assembly to the Capitol with broken hearts signs about the legislature’s misplaced priorities.
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States in Focus
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An effective public relations strategy is vital to a campaign’s success. This includes the use of simple messaging for specific interest groups, providing user-friendly resources for your audience, and engaging in social media and online advocacy.
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“Bump It Up a Buck” Campaign Aims to Generate Revenue and Save Lives
In 2008, several advocacy organizations in Georgia launched the “Bump it Up a Buck” campaign, which promotes a $1 per pack tax increase for cigarettes. This tax increase would generate $340 million in one year to help offset tax cuts and decrease teen smoking rates. The campaign is a joint effort by the American Cancer Society, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, and Georgians for a Healthy Future.
In the four years since its launch, the campaign has earned widespread support and captured media attention. “Bump it Up a Buck” uses strategic messaging to target specific interest groups, from health reporters to businesses to moms. The campaign also employs traditional strategies, such as giving out lapel stickers with the campaign’s logo and contacting state editorial boards. To debunk myths perpetuated by opponents, the campaign developed a “Myths vs. Facts” one-pager. By creating a memorable brand, “Bump It Up a Buck” is now on legislators’ minds and in their lexicon, which ensures that the campaign will continue to get attention.
The campaign also used social media effectively to draw attention to budget decisions and smoking-related illnesses. Advocates created a “Bump It Up a Buck” Facebook page that had an impressive 27,215 views and 752 “likes” during one three-week period in 2011, and its Twitter feed is followed by major news outlets throughout Georgia. Visitors to the campaign’s website can also view Facebook updates via an embedded preview box.
Much of the campaign’s success can be attributed to a strong public relations strategy that integrates strategic messaging, traditional tactics and strategies, and online social networks and advocacy. Through the campaign, advocates are also helping to promote “Kick Butts Day” on March 21, 2012, which is a national day of activism that educates youth about the dangers of tobacco use.
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D.C.’s health advocacy community was able to pass consumer-friendly exchange legislation without sacrificing key protections through coordinated efforts with members and allied partners. Coordinated messages, bottom-line benchmarks, and public education during the early stages of their legislative campaign were all critical pieces to their success.
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D.C. Health Advocacy Community Works Together to Pass Exchange Legislation
During the early stages of exchange implementation, advocates in D.C. knew they needed to present a strong, united front in order to ensure that the consumer perspective was part of the process and that key elements of the new “marketplace” were preserved.
The health advocacy community in D.C., comprised of national and local organizations, including AARP DC, created a set of benchmarks to guide discussions with council members about exchange implementation. As James McSpadden, associate state director of AARP DC, said about the process, “Developing benchmarks was particularly useful as we helped the staff of the Committee on Health draft exchange legislation. Legislative staff began seeing us as experts on the exchange and had a deeper understanding of our minimum requirements for exchange legislation.” Health care organizations adapted these benchmarks into basic talking points to use in conversations with members and allied partners who may not work as closely on exchange implementation.
The advocates also recognized the importance of helping consumers understand the benefits of the exchange. The AARP state office held several community meetings to educate and mobilize AARP members. At these meetings, members were taught about the overall benefits of the law as well as specific benefits for people age 50 and older. Key benefits that were emphasized at these meetings included how the exchange helps unemployed individuals, early retirees, or people who feel locked in their job because they fear losing their health insurance coverage. AARP DC equipped seniors with knowledge about exchange implementation and mobilized them to visit council members’ offices prior to key votes on exchange legislation. Their efforts to educate seniors in D.C. led to impromptu face-to-face meetings with well over half of D.C. council members’ offices. These meetings, together with the set of benchmarks, compelled several D.C. council members to vote in favor of an exchange that protects consumers and makes the insurance market more competitive.
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Minnesota advocates created an opportunity to have their voices heard on the importance of considering health disparities in exchange implementation decisions. Their broad coalition work and thorough research and recommendations were successful in leading the state’s Exchange Advisory Task Force to agree unanimously to make health disparities a part of every exchange policy decision they make.
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Minnesota Advocates Promote Health Equity through the Exchange
On January 18, 2012, the Minnesota Health Insurance Exchange Advisory Task Force voted for consumer-friendly recommendations for the state’s exchange. In a strong show of support for health equity, the Task Force passed a motion to examine every policy decision’s potential effects on health disparities.
A tremendous amount of advocacy work led to this consumer-friendly recommendation. At a November 2011 Department of Commerce meeting on the exchange, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota successfully pushed to dedicate a Task Force meeting entirely to the topic of how the state exchange can address health disparities.
Having an entire Task Force meeting dedicated to health disparities was an opportunity to educate decisionmakers and the public about this issue, so SEIU worked hard and enthusiastically to prepare for this meeting. After thorough consultation with partners and other health care experts, five members of the 15-member Task Force compiled a detailed set of recommendations on reducing health disparities through the exchange. These five members represented a Native American tribe, a community clinic serving low-income people of color, the state’s National Alliance on Mental Illness affiliate, a network of African American church leaders, and SEIU.
During the Task Force meeting, the commissioners of the state Department of Health and Human Services presented hard data on disparities and the Task Force members presented their recommendations in the form of a one-page fact sheet. Community members also attended the meeting and commented on the issue. At the end of the meeting, the Task Force passed a unanimous motion to consider health disparities in all exchange policy decisions. This huge advocacy victory paves the way for an equity-conscious and consumer-friendly exchange in Minnesota.
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Beat of the Month
As many of you continue to push through legislative sessions and difficult budget conversations, listen to Curtis Mayfield’s classic, “Move On Up”. Let his funk musical style help you to “keep on pushing take nothing less—not even second best.”
Advocate Tip:
Use Kaiser Family Foundation’s New Coverage Expansion Tool!
The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released an analysis of how coverage expansions in the Affordable Care Act will vary in local communities starting in 2014. The complete analysis is available here. Also available at this site is an interactive tool that allows users to get localized data that can be used for presentations, letters to the editor, etc. Simply enter your zip code and see the percentage of people in your community who will be eligible for Medicaid or to receive subsidies to help pay for private insurance in 2014.
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New Resources from Families USA and Stand Up for Health Care
Medicare Resources
Accountable Care Organizations
Other Resources
Take me to back issues of the Beat!
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