CONGRESSIONAL MEDICAID ADVOCACY WEBINAR

Slides Created by Kim Knackstedt, Ph.D.

Unlock Access, LLC

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AGENDA

Topics we will cover today

• The basics including etiquette when on the Hill and preparation for a meeting
• Telling your story
• Content during the meeting
• Follow up after meetings
• General tips & tricks

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THE BASICS

• The most important thing to remember: Members of Congress and Congressional staff are people!
• While the situation is intimidating, a meeting is a conversation between two or more people. YOU are the expert (yes, expert!) there to share your knowledge of disability and advocate for something better. If you get nervous, just remember that you have personal experience.
• Your story is important. If you forget what you were supposed to say or feel nervous about talking about anything, share your story.
• Stories are impactful and build a connection. Begin with your story and why this matters to you. Then you can get wonky.

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THE BASICS

ETIQUETTE ON THE HILL, slide 1

Whether an in person or virtual meeting, you should be mindful of the below. You may hear the lights and buzzers during meetings and names are always important.

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• Names of Members: You should always refer to a Member of Congress with the appropriate title (Senator, Congressman/woman, Representative, Leader, Speaker) unless you are directed by that member to call them by their first name or another title.

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• Lights and Buzzers in the Senate: You might hear a series of buzzers around the Capitol and in the Senate office buildings tell Senators what is happening on the Senate floor and summons them for votes and quorum calls. Lights on clocks inside Senate offices correspond with the number of buzzer rings sounded. The red light remains lit at all times while the Senate is in session.

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THE BASICS

ETIQUETTE ON THE HILL, slide 2

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If you find yourself taking an in person meeting, the following are very important reminders when navigating the Capitol grounds:

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• Subway: If you are riding one of the subways to the Capitol, you will likely be doing so with staff. Avoid sitting in the same subway car as a Senator or Congressman. Let them ride alone. In addition, look for the marked subway cars that say “Members Only.”

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• Elevators in the House and Senate: If you find yourself riding an elevator, watch for the signs that mark “Member Only” elevators. Do not get on those elevators. Additionally, if you recognize a Senator or a Congressman and they get on an elevator you are on, as a courtesy get off and wait for the next elevator.

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THE BASICS

ETIQUETTE ON THE HILL, slide 3

For both in person and virtual meetings:

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• Wear professional clothes that you are comfortable in.
• Example: professional work clothes, dress pants, blazer, skirt or dress, button up shirt, etc.
• Be comfortable and professional – this is a first impression, and it is always networking and relationship building.

For in person meetings:

• Wear comfortable shoes if you will be walking – it is OK to wear nice looking sneakers and flats with your professional clothes.
• Bring layers - a jacket, blazer, or sweater – offices often have the AC going while other offices may be warm.

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THE BASICS

In addition to the presentation today, before your meetings, it is a good idea to do some preparation:

• Look up the Members you are meeting with. Even if you are meeting with staff, who is the Member, what committees are they on, and what do they care about? (Google is great to find this!)
• If you are attending an in person or virtual meeting with a group, make a plan. The next few slides will discuss a typical meeting, use that to help decide who will go first and the topics you will discuss.
• Plan 1-2 questions you might ask the Member or staffer. Write the questions down. They might change in the meeting – that is OK! Questions are good to create a conversation.

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TYPICAL MEETINGS

• You can request meetings online (google your member). You might meet with the Member of Congress or with a Staffer. Both options are great! Staffers do the work and will likely ask you more questions about the content. Members of Congress will want to know about you and your story.
• When requesting meetings, there is a difference between state/district staff and DC staff.
• State/district staff tend to work on constituent matters.
• DC staff work on policy matters.
• You are STRONGLY encouraged to request meetings, even if virtual, with DC staff of your congressional office.
• Remember to be specific about your request for the meeting: Discuss the importance of Medicaid funding. You may want to note the funding freeze, upcoming budget reconciliation, or upcoming appropriations discussions. These are all hooks to have the meeting.

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TYPICAL MEETINGS

Many meetings are 15 – 30 minutes. Here’s how a typical meeting may go:

• Begin with introductions of the group
• Thank the Member or staffer for something the Member of Congress supports or has done – it can be anything! Start by being nice as it will get you further with them listening.
• Remember the “Southern Sandwich”:
• Begin with the bread: something nice at the beginning of the meeting
• Put the meat and cheese in the middle: your story and the content or ask
• End with the bread again: something nice at the end of the meeting

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TYPICAL MEETINGS

Next …

• Let them know why you want to speak to them (advocate to save Medicaid).
• Share your stories in connection with the topic of why you are there – be concise and practice in advance. Your story should be about 1-2 min with more to expand on if they have questions.
• Ask questions you might have and if they have any questions. Even though these issues are personal and difficult, remember to be polite.
• Ask if they would like any follow up materials.
• Thank them for their time.

DO NOT DO ALL THE TALKING! A meeting is a conversation.

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TELLING YOUR STORY

• Your story is the “face” of the issue. Stories about people make policies real. Your experience and narrative can change the course of a policy action – that is a big deal.

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• One of the most important reasons you are in the meetings is to tell your story – because YOU are the expert.
• You are an expert in your own lived experiences, how policies impact you each day, and how changes could improve your life right now.
• Your story can help policy makers better understand an issue and the impact on people plus change their mind.

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TELLING YOUR STORY

• After introducing yourself, it is your turn to tell your story.
• You want to come up with a short version of your story and how it is connected to the issue you are there to talk about. (1-2 min)
• Think about answering the following questions in your story:
• Where are you from?
• What is your personal connection to the issue?
• What challenges have you faced?
• How would keeping Medicaid or improving Medicaid impact your life? How would dismantling it impact your life?
• Do you know other people that have been impacted by the issue?

CONTENT & FOLLOW UP

• As noted in the meeting request, you want to be in the meeting to tell your story and make a request for the staff/member to do something: protect Medicaid, save Medicaid, etc.
• They might say “we aren’t voting on anything related to Medicaid right now.” – Don’t be surprised by that! Here are some responses:
• I understand. I’m here today because I am very concerned about how the funding freeze impacted Medicaid, intentional or not. Plus, President Trump and other Republicans have signaled cutting Medicaid. As I mentioned, Medicaid is critically important to me and must be protected.
• I understand but Medicaid is very important. In President Trump’s first term, we saw an attempt to cut Medicaid, and it is expected that happen again. We’ve already seen harm from the funding freeze.

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CONTENT & FOLLOW UP

• In addition to your story, it is good to bring some data. You do not need to be an expert on Medicaid to do this!
• Plus, do not feel you have to answer all the questions the staff or member might ask. You can always say “I’ll follow up because I don’t know the answer.”
• KFF (https://www.kff.org/medicaid/) is an excellent resource for all data Medicaid. You can download and use recent graphics for your meeting that might be relevant to your story. (I use this all the time!)

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CONTENT & FOLLOW UP

• Think about going into the meeting with a key goal in mind: connecting your story and personal experience to the fact that Medicaid is a critical program that impacts so many people around the country and must be maintained.
• Plan ahead how you want to share this message. You do not have to be wonky. Being concise is valued in these meetings.
• Practice – this is an emotional topic. It is personal. Practice what you want to say in a mirror or with a friend, so you have a strong delivery.

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CONTENT & FOLLOW UP

• One of the most important things to remember is follow up after a meeting.
• Within one week of the meeting, you should follow up with a thank you to the person you met with thanking them for the meeting and including any handouts or additional materials.
• For example – if you promised to give them data or more information, include that in the follow up email.
• Your follow up email can be short – thank them for the meeting, say that you welcome future conversations, and offer to help with the issue if it comes up.

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CONTENT & FOLLOW UP

• Remember, the meeting is a conversation! Do not spend the whole time talking at the staffer or the Member of Congress. You can and should ask questions, pause, and allow them to respond.

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• Tip 1: Don’t assume the person you are talking to knows nothing about the topic. You can begin by saying “are you familiar with xxx issue?” Then share information based on their response.

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CONTENT & FOLLOW UP

• Tip 2: It is OK to say you are not sure and you will follow up after the meeting if you are asked a question you do not know the answer to.

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• Tip 3: Per the earlier slide – follow up! Use the meeting to build a relationship. You can simply say thank you or offer information. Not only is this best practice, but it is also great networking!

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Additional Questions?

Reach out!

Kim Knackstedt

Knackstedt@unlockaccess.org

https://www.unlockaccess.org/

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APPENDIX

We will not cover the following slides in the presentation, but they are for your reference.

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Enjoy!

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APPENDIX

Staff: Hill staff have a variety of different titles. The following are commonly used titles on the Hill:

• Intern
• Staff Assistant
• Legislative Correspondent
• Legislative Aide
• Legislative Assistant
• Professional Staff Member
• Policy Advisor
• Policy Counsel
• Legislative Director
• Chief Counsel
• Policy Director
• Chief of Staff
• Staff Director

• Suspension – In the House, a suspension motion can be made to “suspend the rules and pass the bill.” This procedure limits debate and requires a supermajority to pass the bill (at least two thirds). Passing a bill on suspension is done for bills with substantial agreement and to move bills quickly.
• Unanimous Consent - In the Senate, Unanimous Consent or often phrased as “passing a bill on UC” is conducted to expedite the passage of a bill. This allows for bypassing a quorum call or debate and simply move to passage. With UC, agreement is obtained prior to bringing the bill to the floor. Any one member of the Senate can anonymously “hold” the bill, blocking passage. UC is only used for bills with wide support across parties.

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APPENDIX

• Policy - may be a law, bill, regulation, or guidance at the federal, state, or local level
• Authorizing - authorizing is when a bill is passed that approves funds to be used for a purpose. HELP committee is an authorizing committee.
• Appropriating – Appropriating is passing a bill to actually give a specific amount of funds for purpose. The Senate and the House have appropriations Committees.

*Note authorizing levels may be very different than funds that are appropriated.

• Dear Colleague Letter – a letter sent between members of congress asking for support for a bill, amendment, or specific topic of concern.
• Home Office – the Member of Congress’s office in the state or district.

• Recess – Commonly planned around federal holidays, a Congressional Recess is a planned break for Members to return to their home states and connect with constituents. Recess also includes any time that the chamber has decided that session will end and convene at a later time.
• Mark-up – A mark-up is organized by the Chairman of a Committee and consists of the members of the committee meeting together to decide which bills or nominations to “report out” to the full Senate and House. During mark-up, the bill(s) under consideration may be amended by Committee members or passed out of Committee. Once a measure, piece of legislation, or nomination is reported out of the Committee, it awaits consideration by the full Senate or House.

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EXAMPLE OF A FOLLOW UP EMAIL

Dear Staff Member,

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me yesterday. It was encouraging to hear your support of elimination of subminimum wages for people with disabilities. I want to offer my help if this issue comes up for a vote or you need additional support in the future.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,