1. NACDD Hill Day: Legislative Visits What to Expect Mari T. Brick, MA Program Consultant, NACDD Brick@chronicdisease.org

2. Why Do It? “…if you simply tell people about a specific piece of legislation and your position on it but you don't encourage them to contact their legislators, this is not considered to be lobbying.” ( Center for Community Change, 1996)

3. Policy What is “policy”? Policy is the concerted action of governments and other institutions to use mechanisms of influence or control to achieve a desired outcome. Policies generally operate at the systems level, applying to large sectors or populations and set the context in which individual decisions and actions are made. The policy-public health connection Within the context of public health, policy development includes the advancement and implementation of public health law, regulations, or voluntary practices that influence systems development, organizational change, and individual behavior to promote improvements in health. Such policies can be executed within the health sector—for example, using Medicare conditions of participation or reimbursement to influence health care delivery, or using the tax code to encourage employer-provided health insurance. However, public health goals can also be achieved working in other sectors like education, agriculture, or employment, among others. (as defined by the CDC Excellence in Policy Council and the Associate Directors for Policy, March 2008)

4. Policy Why is policy important to Public Health? According to the Institute of Medicine, policy development is an essential public health function. Further, policy development is included in three of the ten Essential Public Health Services. Public health professionals play an important role in policy development by conducting policy-relevant research, communicating findings in a manner that facilitates action, developing partnerships, and encouraging the efficient use of resources through the promotion of policies based on science—such as the promotion of evidence- based, health interventions. (as defined by the CDC Excellence in Policy Council and the Associate Directors for Policy, March 2008)

5. Policy Policy professionals CDC’s policy professionals are guided by advanced training not only in public health, economics, and formal policy analysis, but also in medicine, law, nursing, life sciences, management, public administration, social work, international affairs, geographic information systems, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and related disciplines. Policy professionals provide knowledge of existing health systems, public health methods and approaches, and strategy development. Policy professionals at CDC evaluate the results of various public health efforts, make recommendations when change is warranted, and develop plans to address perceived or real gaps between stakeholder expectations and the agency’s performance or commitments. CDC policy staff also assess opportunities and risks; analyze issues and trends, as well as programs and human, operational, and capital resource allocation; develop strategic partnerships; facilitate policy analysis, formulation, intervention design and evaluation; and conduct performance and impact evaluation. (as defined by the CDC Excellence in Policy Council and the Associate Directors for Policy, March 2008)

6. Key People Cornerstone Government Affairs State Representatives You!

7. The Logistics WhoWhatWhereWhenHow

8. Key Messages Preparation is important! VerbalWrittenOther

9. Preparation Do some research in advance to find out, for example, who is the health care aide/staffer for your coalition’s Representative or Senator. This type of information can be determined by calling the Member’s Washington D.C. office. In requesting a district office appointment, it would be helpful to first review the House/Senate calendar to identify when your Member will be in the district or state during a recess or district work period. (National Business Coalition on Health, Tips for Communicating with Members of Congress, 2009)

10. Preparation E-mail and fax to your Washington D.C. office is the quickest and most efficient way to communicate with Members of Congress. Go to www.house.gov or www.senate.gov.www.senate.gov Tips on Writing Congress Improving the effectiveness of the email/fax: 1. Your purpose for writing should be stated in the first paragraph of the letter. If your letter pertains to a specific piece of legislation, identify it accordingly, e.g., House bill: H. R. ____, Senate bill: S.____. 2. Be courteous, to the point, and include key information, using examples to support your position, perhaps the impact of the legislation on the constituency you represent, i.e. business/health coalitions. 3. Address only one issue in each letter; and, if possible, keep the letter to one page. (National Business Coalition on Health, Tips for Communicating with Members of Congress, 2009)

11. The Visit Where’s my Elected Official? Each member of Congress has staff to assist him/her during a term in office. To be most effective, it is helpful to know the titles and principal functions of key staff. Administrative Assistant or Chief of Staff Legislative Director, Senior Legislative Assistant, or Legislative Coordinator Appointment Secretary, Personal Secretary, or Scheduler Press Secretary or Communications Director (National Business Coalition on Health, Tips for Communicating with Members of Congress, 2009)

12. Follow-up Your Part Cornerstone Government Affairs NACDD

13. Take Home Getting involved… NACDD Policy & Legislative Committee Arthritis Council Policy & Legislative Workgroup Arthritis Advocates (AF)