First - You’re a rock star! 

Below you will find a treasure trove of information to make attending a town hall to advocate for healthcare the best it can be. Remember, if you can’t find a town hall near you, you can always swing by your members’ of Congress office near where you live to share your thoughts in person—no appointment necessary!

Locations

No complete list of town hall events exists, however, a group of great volunteers have compiled this list that may be helpful:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1yq1NT9DZ2z3B8ixhid894e77u9rN5XIgOwWtTW72IYA/htmlview?sle=true#gid=1473996386

If you don’t find a town hall happening near you on the list, contact your members of Congress’ office to find out when they’ll be hosting one (or plan a time to drop by if they’re not). You can find contact information for your members of Congress—including local addresses—in the links below:

• Senators: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
• Representative: http://www.house.gov/htbin/findrep

Print a stories booklet to share with a member of Congress

You can print our healthcare storybook to bring along. Or request one to be shipped to you. (Shipping can take up to 10 days.): http://action.momsrising.org/survey/healthcare-storybook-dropoff/

Sample Questions

Remember, it’s great to share your own story or personal connection to the issue, first! Here are some helpful sample questions—you can ask one or more questions at a town hall:

• Before Obamacare, I was denied coverage because I had a pre-existing condition. How will you make sure that never happens to me again?
• When I gave birth to my son, my hospital expenses were covered by Medicaid. How will you make sure this critical program remains strong?
• Independent, credible experts agree that a repeal of the Affordable Care Act without an immediate replacement would leave almost 30 million people uninsured, including 4 million children. How can you help to ensure that any changes to our healthcare system don’t result in families losing quality, affordable health coverage? (Source: Urban Institute)
• The Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and CHIP have brought our nation’s uninsured rate for children down to a record low of 6%. What will you do to make sure that we continue the working toward making sure every child in our country has health insurance? (Source: Georgetown CCF)
• The Affordable Care Act created 10 essential health benefits that insurance plans must include which guarantees when people buy a plan, it will include critical pieces of coverage that were often not included before the law. How will you work to make sure that insurance companies can’t exclude coverage that is critical for families like prenatal / maternity care, mental health, and prescriptions? (Source: Healthcare.gov)

 Or feel free to email me at felicia@momsrising.org to brainstorm some questions together.

Want to learn more about the issues?

You don’t need to be an expert to go to a town hall or to drop off a booklet of stories. Facts and policy points only tell part of what’s going on—it’s the experiences of families and individuals that help make the issue “real” to elected officials and the public! And questions are important too!

But if you’re like me, you may want to read through some data for backup. Here are some links to state-specific fact sheets that you can download. You could even print them to hand-deliver to your member of Congress or their staff.

• CBPP: Impact of Affordable Care Act Repeal
• FamiliesUSA: Defending Health Care in 2017: What Is at Stake in Each State
• EPI: How would repealing the Affordable Care Act affect health care and jobs in your state?
• Georgetown CCF: State Health Care Coverage Facts

Tips for Talking with Lawmakers

Read our blog with do’s and don’t’s about attending a town hall (same rules apply for dropping by your members of Congress’ office). http://www.momsrising.org/blog/how-to-be-awesome-at-a-town-hall-near-you

Supplies

Show your MomsRising pride by printing a button to wear or sign to hold:

• Buttons - Print one (or more!) out to pin to your shirt.
• Signs - sized for regular printer paper: color or black & white

And be sure to send me some pictures of the event to add to our Facebook album!