New Ambassador Orientation Laura Keivel Manager, Grassroots Advocacy
Arthritis Foundation Advocacy Advocacy and Access is part of the National Office based in Washington, DC New state advocacy initiatives and access issues Federal priorities and building a strong Congressional Arthritis Caucus
Ambassador Program Contact Laura Keivel, Grassroots Advocacy Manager Advocacy Leadership Team Member Please contact us anytime! 202-887-2913 or lkeivel@arthritis.org
Regional Advocacy Workgroup Mid Atlantic Region - West Mark Guimond mguimond@arthritis.org 202/887-2912 DE, MD, DC Mid Atlantic Region - East Claudia Stewart cstewart@arthritis.org 804/665-9952 or ext. 4652 SC, NC, VA, FL, TN Southeast Region Ayana Charleston acharleston@arthritis.org 678/237-4454 AR, LA, MS, AL, GA South Central Region Pam Gill pgill@arthritis.org 214/818-0366 TX, OK, NM Heartland Region Michele Guadalupe mguadalupe@arthritis.org 312/880-4736 cell 773/304-7290 KS, NE, IA, MO, IL, IN New England Region Andrea Savinsky asavinsky@arthritis.org 860/563-1177 ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI Pacific Region Krystin Herr kherr@arthritis.org cell 916/502-2979 CA, NV, AZ, HI Northeast Region Michele Greco mgreco@arthritis.org 917/734-6119 NY, NJ, PA Great West Region Johanna Lindsay jlindsay@arthritis.org 206/547-2707 X105 WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, UT, CO, AK, CA Upper Midwest Lori Obluck lobluck@arthritis.org 414/321-3933 ND, SD, MN, WI Great Lakes Region Pam Fields pfields@arthritis.org 513/271-4545 X4053 MI, OH, PA, WV, KY
Mission of the Ambassador Program Arthritis Ambassadors are volunteers committed to taking part in the democratic process and serve as liaisons between the Arthritis Foundation and their Congressional District s Representative and state representatives. Each Ambassador s efforts are crucial to the success of the Arthritis Foundation. Each month, Ambassadors are asked to work with the Foundation s Advocacy and Access staff on special assignments to advance the Foundation's advocacy efforts and to share their story with important decision makers.
What is the Ambassador Program? Webinars every other month with an update, speakers, and a monthly activity Variety of tasks that build towards creating a relationship with your legislators Tasks can take less than 15 minutes Strong community of advocates Ambassadors are encouraged to attend the annual Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC
Why is Advocacy Scary?
Why would they listen to me? Why should they care? What could they possibly do for me? Advocacy is intimidating!
Advocacy is Not Scary! They have families too and some are affected by arthritis Legislators are people too often state legislators are part time and have careers Their job is to listen to you
Your Role in Advocacy is Important Your voice is important only you can tell your story and you know how arthritis impacts your life If we don t talk about arthritis with Congress, who will? Many other organizations work with Congress we need to be there YOU are the experts
Government 101
Who Remembers High School Government? 435 Members of Congress and 100 Senators You have 1 Member of Congress and 2 Senators Bills are introduced in the House and Senate and referred to committees Bills must make it through hearings and committee meetings Bills passed by the House and Senate are sent to the President for signature or veto
Terminology When communicating with your Members of Congress, be sure to use the correct titles Representatives are in the House of Representatives Senators are in the Senate All are Members of Congress
Find your Representative Go to http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ In the Enter your ZIP code box add your 5 digit ZIP Code
What if you have more than one possible Representative? Visit the Postal Service website www.usps.com Enter your FULL address no P.O. Boxes! Use the ZIP +4 and enter it in at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
How to Find Your Senators You have two Senators per state no matter where you live. Go to: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information /senators_cfm.cfm
Our Work
Arthritis Foundation Federal Issues H.R. 1600 The Patient s Access to Treatments Act (PATA) Biologics are breakthrough treatments for people with chronic conditions such as RA Biologics are highly specialized and are expensive A number of health insurers have adopted a specialty tier pricing system for these drugs the average monthly co-pay can be from $500 to $5,000 PATA would limit patients cost-sharing requirements
What Can You Do? Ask your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 1600 Tell them how the high cost of medication affects people with arthritis Tell your story!
Research Program at the Department of Defense
Congressional Arthritis Caucus Arthritis Caucus Hill Briefings: Back Pain and Ankylosing Spondylitis Arthritis 101 Access to Care A quarterly newsletter to inform members of Congress on major issues Goal to increase the Caucus membership to 126
What Can You Do? Ask your members of Congress to join the Caucus All Caucus members joined because an Advocate asked them to!
H.R. 1859 Ensuring Children s Access to Specialty Care Act Would help with student loans for pediatric rheumatologists Funding comes from Public Health Service Act
State Issues All states are different but we work on: Biosimilar substitution Formulary transparency Narrow provider networks Out-of-pocket medication costs Prior authorization Step therapy Not all issues are in all states! All legislatures have different session lengths
Advocacy Summit March 14-15, 2016 in Arlington, Virginia Speakers, workshops, and presentations to empower advocates on state and federal issues to inspire them to advocate all year long Kids Summit where kids learn how to advocate for themselves
Responsibilities of an Ambassador
Responsibilities of an Ambassador Commit to being a liaison between the Arthritis Foundation and your state and federal legislators Be actively engaged in the program by completing tasks, attending local Arthritis Foundation events, and recruiting more Arthritis Foundation Advocates Being an Ambassador requires dedication and commitment!
About the Ambassador Program Webinars every other month with an update, speakers, and a monthly activity Variety of tasks that build towards creating a relationship with your legislators Tasks can take less than 15 minutes Strong community of advocates
How to be an Effective Ambassador Communicate with your elected officials letter writing, social media, phone calls, attend town halls and tele-town halls, district office visits Continually update staff and tell your story! Arthritis is misunderstood, so forming relationships clarifies the issues
Telling Your Story Use our Advocacy Toolkit as a guide Be honest how is your life being affected by this particular policy? When x happens, what is the result for your family? Be memorable Be succinct
Any Questions? Please hit #6 to unmute your line
Reporting Your Activities The Reporting Center is important so AF staff know about interactions and where to follow up or target our advocacy efforts in Washington, DC and in the states Reporting is also important for Ambassador awards at the end of the year
Reporting Your Activities www.arthritis.org/report Advocate ID: Email Address Passcode: Last Name
Reporting Your Activities
Reporting Your Activities
Reporting Your Activities We recommend using Google Chrome or Firefox when reporting in Please be sure to hit completed or the activity will still be active If you cannot find the activity, be sure to scroll over at the bottom they may be on the last page Please contact Laura Keivel for any assistance
2015 Ambassador Briefing Schedule Wednesday, July 8 3:00 PM Eastern Wednesday, September 9 3:00 PM Eastern Wednesday, November 11 3:00 PM Eastern
Ambassador Awards The Ambassador year is October October Platinum Ambassadors complete all activities, raise $500 (give or get), and complete 4 bonus activities Honored at the annual Advocacy Summit
Questions? We are here to help! Any questions Any materials We are here to be a resource for you! lkeivel@arthritis.org or 202-887-2913 #6 to unmute your line
Thank You! YOU make a difference Thousands in Advocate Network 700 Ambassadors 1 Voice We advocate with the Arthritis Foundation because it is the only way our family can help get us closer to a cure Heidi Barrett, Washington State
Thank you for being a part of the Ambassador program!