Guide for Organizing a
R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action
R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action
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Materials you'll need |
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Thanks for helping organize this event!
On July 23rd, all over the country, we're organizing a R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action to urge senators to stand up for a real public health insurance option – the heart of health care reform.
The public option has tremendous popular support (83% in a recent poll!) -- but conservatives and insurance lobbyists have been trying to water it down and replace it with ineffective half-measures. That's why we need to make sure our senators know that we need a R.E.A.L. public option that will make a real difference in people's lives.
We'll highlight the reality that we can't afford not to get health care reform right, and that a R.E.A.L. public option is key to containing the out-of-control health care costs that are crushing Americans every day.
This guide will help you plan your R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action, and it provides you the resources you'll need along the way. If you have questions, contact your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator, or email realpublicoption@moveon.org.
This guide is divided into a few simple sections:
- What's the model for the R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action?
- Before the R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action
- During the R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action
- After the R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action
1. What's the model for the R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action?
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The goal of the REAL Public Option Day of Action is primarily to urge your senator to support and fight for a real public health insurance option. The REAL Public Option Day of Action has two parts:
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WHAT IS THE R.E.A.L. PUBLIC OPTION THAT WE NEED FOR REAL HEALTH CARE REFORM?
Right away: Every day we wait on real reform, health care costs continue to rise. A strong public health insurance option right out of the gate is key to building a competitive program that will help control costs.
Everyone: A strong public health insurance option should be a key piece of a reform plan that will guarantee access to quality health care for everyone in America.
Accountable: To ensure it's held to the highest standards of accountability, a public health insurance option must be publicly accountable and transparent to Congress and to voters.
Large enough to lower costs: In order to truly control costs and compete with private health insurance plans, a strong public health insurance option must be available nationwide with a broad network of providers.
2. Before the R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action
A) Schedule a Meeting with Senate staff for the 23rd
Start calling your local Senate office today. Let them know you're with the local MoveOn Council and need to schedule a meeting on July 23rd to discuss the need for a public health insurance option and deliver a letter about health care reform. Let the staff member know that you're planning a media event outside the office to highlight the costs of the health care system and that you'd like a small delegation to meet with a relevant staff member afterwards to discuss the letter you will be delivering.
Try your best to get a meeting set up in advance like this, but it's fine if you don't get one nailed down. In the past, councils have had a lot of success just showing up and asking to meet with someone. So, if you don't have a meeting by Thursday, July 16th, you should move forward with picking a time and planning your event anyways -- and just let the Senate office know you'll be coming by afterwards to deliver the letter and would appreciate a short meeting with someone on staff.B) Nail down the logistics of your REAL Public Option Day of Action
- Scout out the location. Drop the by Senate office (or other location) where you'll be holding your media event. Note any easily identifiable gathering spots and places that would be conducive to having speakers surrounded by other attendees. Remember to avoid blocking the sidewalks or entering private property -- and check with local police or city officials if you think you may need a permit.
- Pick a start time. The best time for your media event is around mid-day. That's a good time for reporters to come, and MoveOn members may be more likely to participate by coming out on their lunch break. The suggested starting time for your event is 12pm.
If you can schedule a meeting with Senate staff, you'll want to hold your media event about 20-30 minutes beforehand so you can go immediately from the media event to the office delivery.
- Please make sure your REAL Public Option Day is registered in MoveOn's online system by Friday, July 17th. MoveOn will then send an email to some active, nearby MoveOn members advertising your event. When you're ready, click here to register your event: http://pol.moveon.org/event/realpublicoption
- Recruit speakers for your media event and letter delivery. It's important you recruit a few speakers who are articulate and willing to speak about their experiences with the costs of the health care system. If you held a July strategy meeting, you should have already brainstormed ideas about great local speakers. Here are some suggestions for who ideal speakers can be:
- Small-business owner who can talk about the costs of the current health care system.
- Medical professional who sees the health care system in action every day.
- Community members who can talk about the outrageous costs they've been paying for health care.
If you put together an "influentials" recruitment team at your July strategy meeting and they've identified key folks for influencing your target, or if you can't find a particular category of speaker, don't worry and feel free to substitute -- the point is to have effective messengers present at your event to get media coverage!Each person will need to be prepared to speak for about 2 minutes at the media event and then about 2 minutes at the letter delivery and meeting with Senate staff. We'll provide talking points and a suggested script for all the speakers on the materials page.
C) Join the National Host Conference Call
On Monday, July 20th at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 6pm MT / 5pm PT, we'll be holding a special national conference call for event hosts. We'll go over everything you need to know about these actions, and leave plenty of time for questions and answers.
To join, please dial 1 212-812-2800 and enter 6031-9796#. And if you can be online during the call (this is optional), go to: https://www.spiderphone.com/60319796
D) Prepare Materials
You'll need to print out the letter for the senator, your event materials, and signs. All the materials you need for your event are available on the materials page.
Click here for the Materials Page.
IMPORTANT NOTE: For privacy reasons, remember to tell attendees to use marker to black out any personal info on the medical bill they bring to the event -- including address, full name, account number, what they're billed for, and any other personal information.
E) Recruit, recruit, recruit
If you have a recruitment team, now's the time for it to shine!
Hit the phones: The best thing to do is to have a recruitment call party -- or at least, to give out a list of names for your recruitment team to call. You can now get a list of names to call through your Council Page -- just go to http://www.moveon.org/team, and click on "Event Recruitment - Make Calls". Calls are the best way to get people to your event.
Emails: You can also invite people over email from your host tools page. Make sure you at least invite every Council member and everyone who recently attended a Council event! Here's how:
As you're recruiting, be sure to look out for medical professionals, small-business owners, or other community members who may have a compelling story about the costs of the health care system --- they may make excellent speakers for your event. Follow up with anyone who is willing and may make a good speaker for the event outside or at your meeting with Senate staff.
- To send the invite email, log in to your host tools page. From there, you can easily send invitations using the "Invite Others" tool. (This will automatically add the details of your event and a link to RSVP.)
- The personalized link to your host tools page was included in your confirmation email. If you can't find that email, click here.
If you have an "influentials" recruitment team, they should take the lead on identifying and recruiting key folks for influencing your target. Be sure to set a time to practice every speakers' story with them before the event, either in person or over the phone.
F) Reach out to the Media
The goal of your letter delivery and media event is to show your senator that local constituents can't afford to wait any longer for health care reform with a real public health insurance option. You can multiply your event's impact on your target by doing a bit of simple media outreach that will help you reach thousands more people if you get coverage.
Be sure to check out our media guide for step-by-step instructions on attracting local media. We've also put together a sample advisory that you should tailor and send to local reporters, talking points to help you speak to any members of the press that do attend, and a script to make reminder calls to reporters.
One important note: It's critical that you take time to contact media before the day of your event, and that you make reminder calls to reporters. Here's a suggested timeline for media outreach:
- Send out your media advisory and make follow-up calls on Monday, July 20th
- Make Follow Up Calls on Wednesday, July 22nd
- Bring a copy of your media advisory to the event on Thursday, July 23rd
G) Prepare Speakers and Hold a Run-Through
Because this is a really important advocacy opportunity, it is important to hold a dry-run day a few days before the event, to make sure everyone knows their part for the media event and staff meeting. It's better to do this dry-run in person, but you can also do it over the phone.
Whether you can do a complete dry-run, it's very important that you prepare your speakers well. Make sure you've had a "prep call" or meeting with every single speaker who's appearing at your REAL Public Option Day -- and that everyone knows his or her role at the media event and meeting. The goal of these prep calls is to help each speaker deliver the message in a clear and simple way and build their confidence for the day of action.
H) Make Final Preparations, Including Reminder Calls
In the last 24 hours before your event, make sure you're ready! Read all your materials linked above, and re-read this guide once more. Then make sure you talk to your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator before the REAL Public Option Day of Action for final tips and prep. If you don't know how to contact your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator, you can email councilorganizer@moveon.org.
Your registered guests should hear from you in the 24 hours leading up to the event. This is by far the best way to help ensure that people show up, so that you can build a strong Council. You can log in to your host tools page to send an e-mail to everyone who is signed up, reminding them what time you are starting and how to get to your event location. You should also give them a reminder call. If they listed their phone numbers, that information will show up on your host tools page.
It's especially important that you make a reminder call to all your participants who are planning to speak at the media event or attend the meeting with Senate staff.
3. During the R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action
Each event will be slightly different, but a short sample is below. Here's the overview of what will happen: (Click here for the speakers' scripts for the roles below.)
- The host should arrive about 15 minutes early to set up for the media event and greet anyone who arrives.
- The host or another trained media team member should distribute media advisories to any press at the event, and get their contact information.
- When you're ready to begin, gather everyone up in a central location to hear the speakers.
- The Host or Emcee welcomes everyone to the event, talks about the purpose of the event, the medical bills everyone brought to the event, and the outrageous cost of health care. Finish up by explaining the four keys to a R.E.A.L. public option, introduce the letter and talk about how much money it will save (we'll provide suggested talking points in the materials section) and introduce the subsequent speakers. (3-4 min)
- Here's a suggested order for the speakers that you have, and how they can tell a powerful story:
- Small-Business Owner: Focus on what the rising costs of health care mean for his/her business and the need for a real public option. (2-3 min)
- Community member: Talk about their medical bill and health care story and encourage everyone to wave theirs in the air or show them to the press cameras, if any are present. (2-3 min)
- Medical professional: Talk about the need for a public health insurance option to address the health care crisis they see firsthand. (2-3 min)
- The host should then thank everyone and let everyone know what will happen next. (3 min)
- Let everyone know that a delegation will go upstairs for a letter delivery and quick meeting. (The meeting should be about 15-20 min)
- Ask everyone else to share stories with each other and then hold signs and have a "honk-and-wave" for a bit longer, to get our message out to passing traffic.
Your Letter Delivery and Meeting with Staff
(See Sample Script for More Details - Coming Soon)
- Introduce Yourselves
- Host/Emcee - Talk about the purpose of this event and introduce the key costs of health care (2 min)
- Small-Business Owner - Talk about what the rising costs of health care mean for your business (2 min)
- Community Member - Talk about your medical bill and experience with the health care system (2 min)
- Doctor - Talk about the need for a public health insurance option and how the lack thereof affects treatment (2 min)
- Host - Deliver the letter and explain the four keys to a REAL public health insurance option (2 min)
- Host - Politely ask the staff member if you can count on the senator's support for a REAL public health insurance option.
- Listen for a response and politely restate your question if you don't feel you got an answer.
- Thank the staff member for their time and head downstairs to report back!
- Come back outside and report back on your delivery and meeting. Thank everyone for coming and if anyone is interested, hold a honk-and-wave for visibility outside the event! (2 min and beyond!)
4. After your R.E.A.L. Public Option Day of Action
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