It was great to see so many of you in Washington recently for Chiropractic’s Day on the Hill. The energy and enthusiasm was indeed palpable!
If you haven’t yet followed up with your congressional meetings, please start doing so. Following up is integral in getting the representative or senator to cosponsor our bills. I’ve included below a great example of a follow-up email to congressional staff regarding a meeting that took place during our Hill day. Dr. Alli Totzke, our alternate delegate in Virginia — and recipient of the 2024 Alternate Delegate of the Year Award — used this message to follow up with the people she spoke with, to remind them of our issue and to urge them to act.
Feel free to adapt this language to your own emails to congressional staff:
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Subject: H.R. 1610 — Following Up
Thank you for taking the time to meet with us last week to talk about H.R. 1610, the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act.
As a review, patients come to us for help when they are in pain. They may have an injury, an illness, or are simply feeling the effects of time. Unfortunately, for many of our patients, their lifelong relationship with their doctor ends when they turn 65 and they lose access to their trusted chiropractor because Medicare doesn’t cover many of the benefits they need most.
Based on our conversation, I have provided the following information to aid in better understanding the importance of this bill and to answer some of the questions you may have:
- a research summary for reduced opioid use and cost-saving measures
- an article around Medicare usage in Virginia (1.6 million individuals!) [add information specific to your state here]
- Research on Medicare cost savings this bill would provide
Should you have any further questions that I can answer or feel that our perspective may be helpful in other bills, please do not hesitate to contact me. We look forward to having Representative/Senator [Name] as a cosponsor for this bill soon.
Thank you again for your time.
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In addition, don’t get discouraged if you haven’t heard from anyone since your meeting and feel you are being “ghosted.” Below are some suggestions to consider adding to your follow-ups:
- Get a Timeline: Ask staff for a timeline on when you may be hearing back from them.
- Ask for Updates: Don’t be afraid to ask to be kept updated during the cosponsor process.
- Don’t Assume: Silence from a staffer may not mean you’re being ghosted. Hill staff may be able to provide you a timeline for the decision-making process, but not hearing from them immediately does not mean it’s a lost cause.
- Keep Exploring: Some members simply may not cosponsor but send one last follow-up anyway. Try to have several patients call the office and ask the member to cosponsor. Bottom line, be creative.
Finally, if you haven’t done so already, please remember to fill out the debriefing form for each of your visits. These debriefing forms help us throughout the year here in Washington.
Debriefing form: https://www.acatoday.org/education-events/aca-engage-2024/engage-chiropractics-day-on-capitol-hill/capitol-hill-meeting-debriefing-form/
Of course, please feel free to contact me with any questions.
John Falardeau is senior vice president of public policy and advocacy.
