Attend a Local Town Hall --Your Voice Needs to Be Heard Now!

These next few weeks are critical. With committees in both the House and the Senate voting out health care bills, we’re the closest we’ve ever been to getting real health care reform in this country.

Because we are so close, opponents to health reform are pulling out all the stops to keep the status quo. They don’t want Congress to just slow down on health care – they want to flat-out kill real insurance reforms that will help everyone. They’re using this August recess to spread misinformation and scare Americans from supporting real change.

There’s a good chance that these opponents will show up at the town hall meeting you plan to attend and disrupt real dialog. They’ll shout, stand up, make unverifiable claims and try to stop a productive conversation about your real health care concerns. We can’t let the actions of a few individuals undermine the democratic process.

Your Representative needs to hear from people like you at these town halls. Here are some ideas for what you can do or talk about at the town hall (during the Question and Answer period):

• Talk about your experiences with the health care system. If you’ve had trouble getting affordable coverage or are trapped in a job because you don’t want to lose your coverage, you should share this at the meeting. Ask the member how their health reform proposal will help you with your specific problem. This is the most important thing you can do. Remember: Your story carries more much more weight than any heated demands or unverifiable claims from belligerent individuals at the meeting.

• You can bring up concerns with our health care system that the majority of Americans care about. For example you could ask, “Representative, we all know health care costs are weighing down American businesses and putting them at a competitive disadvantage. What is Congress proposing to do to make insurance more affordable for struggling businesses, especially small businesses?”

• If a shouting match erupts at the meeting, you could try to steer the meeting back to your Representative. You could say something like, “I’d like to hear what our Representative has to say. Representative, how will proposals in Congress help people with pre-existing conditions that have been denied coverage in the past?”

• If you don’t get a chance to ask a question during the Q & A period, you should approach your Representative (or the staff!) after the meeting to tell your health care story or ask a question. You should feel free to pass on some of our materials. You could also call or stop by your Representative’s district office the next day. Remember, your lawmaker actually wants to hear your thoughts. That’s why the town meeting was scheduled in the first place.

Be the voice of reason at your local town hall meeting. We need your help during this critical time. Your positive voice and your own experiences have the power to drown out the misinformation that opponents are spreading.