Make the case Medicaid helps people and is popular
Tactic: Create a table of potential partners, allies, and stakeholders who can help build the case for Medicaid
Resources:
Examples:
Tactic: Collect stories to highlight Medicaid's current impact and the impact expanding Medicaid could have on individuals and families.
Resources:
Examples:
- New Mexico Facebook page used to find consumers who rely on Medicaid
- Maryland story collection form
- Michigan story collection form
Tactic: Create and circulate a petition or sign-on letter in support of Medicaid
Resources:
Examples:
- Michigan petition urging Governor Snyder to support the Medicaid expansion
- North Carolina petition urging Governor McCrory to support the Medicaid expansion
- Pennsylvania sign-on letter supporting the Medicaid expansion
Tactic: Engage providers in your campaign to promote Medicaid
Resources:
- Community Catalyst blog and article in Health Progress that highlights strategies for engaging hospitals in making the case for Medicaid
- Messages for engaging providers in your campaign to promote Medicaid - including community healthcentersand hospitals
- Template one pager to make the case that providers should be engaged in your campaign to promote Medicaid
Examples:
- Advocates in Utah worked with the Utah Medical Association to draft a resolution in support of the Medicaid expansion
- Brief highlighting Medicaid as a lifeline for Tennessee hospitals
Tactic: Help providers speak publicly about the importance of Medicaid and the need to protect and enhance Medicaid payments to providers.
Resources:
- Template op-ed for providers to make the case for Medicaid
Examples:
- Utah Medical Association's endorsement of the Medicaid expansion.
- Iowa Hospital Association policy brief supporting the Medicaid expansion
- Ohio Hospital Association media statement supporting the Medicaid expansion
- Brief from the South Carolina Hospital association that highlights the economic impact of the Medicaid expansion
- Indiana op-ed that highlights how the Medicaid expansion will benefit Indiana hospitals
Tactic: Help businesspeople or business organizations speak publicly about supporting Medicaid
Examples:
- The president of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire's testimony in support of Medicaid
- The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce weighs in with decision makers about the importance of Medicaid
- Op-ed from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce supporting the Medicaid expansion
Resources:
- Small Business Majority report highlighting what Medicaid expansion means for Missouri's economy and small businesses
- Article highlighting why Florida businesses want Medicaid expansion
Tactic: Engage law enforcement community and substance use disorders and mental health constituencies in Medicaid expansion campaigns to highlight the impact of Medicaid on corrections, crime, and the related costs.
Examples:
- The Senate Fiscal Agency in Michigan's estimates of the cost of the Medicaid expansion, which includes $32.3M in savings to the state's corrections health care costs
- Op-ed from a law enforcement executive highlighting that Medicaid can improve care and prevent crime
- Medicaid hearing testimonies from a Penobscot County sheriff, a Sagadahoc County sheriff, and NAMI Maineurging legislators to expand Medicaid in Maine
Resources:
- Urban Institute report that highlights savings to Ohio's state corrections health care costs
- Community Oriented Correctional Health Services report that summarizes some of the findings regarding reduced crime rates from Washington State's experience expanding Medicaid coverage to childless adults
- Talking points on Medicaid expansion for sheriffs or police chiefs from the National Alliance on Mental Illness Ohio (Attachment)
- National Alliance on Mental Illness report on Medicaid expansion and mental health care
- Fight Crime: Invest in Kids report on accessing federal funds to provide essential Medicaid coverage in Michigan in addition to cut violence and cut prison costs
- Community Catalyst blog highlighting how expanding Medicaid will improve behavioral health care
Tactic: Engage rural constituencies to highlight the importance of Medicaid
Resources:
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Fact Sheet highlighting how rural America will benefit from Medicaid expansion
Examples:
- Article highlighting why Medicaid expansion is crucial for rural Missouri
Tactic: Engage veterans groups to highlight the importance of Medicaid
Resources:
- Urban Institute report that breaks down, by state, the number and percentage of uninsured veterans and their families who will gain coverage from Medicaid expansion
Examples:
- Factsheet highlighting why the Medicaid expansion is good for Tennessee veterans
- Article by the director of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services and co-chairman of the Ohio National Guard Association highlighting Medicaid expansion benefits for veterans
- Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families infographic highlighting the number of uninsured Arkansas veterans eligible for new coverage options
Tactic: Highlight how Medicaid advances health equity
Resources:
- Urban Institute report that breaks down, by state and race/ethnicity, the number and percentage of uninsured adults who could gain health insurance coverage through the Medicaid expansion
- Center for American Progress brief highlighting how Medicaid will help LGBT people and their families get coverage
-
National Health Law Program brief on the 10 reasons the Medicaid Expansion Helps to Address Health Disparities
Examples:
- New Mexico op-ed that highlights how the Medicaid expansion will benefit the Native American population
- Washington's MLK Lobby and Action Day, which included trainings, meetings with legislators and an action promoting racial equity
- Factsheet highlighting how the Medicaid expansion can benefit African Americans in Tennessee
- North Carolina brief that highlights how Medicaid can reduce health disparities
- Brief highlighting why the Medicaid expansion matters to Georgia's LGBT community
Tactic: Communicate effectively through traditional media about the importance of the Medicaid program.
Resources:
Examples:
- Editorial supporting Medicaid expansion from the Albuquerque editorial board
- Op-ed that highlights why Medicaid should matter to all middle-class families
- Op-ed that highlights how Medicaid helps people in Washington state
- Op-ed highlighting why not expanding Medicaid is bad for Georgians
Tactic: Communicate effectively through social media about the importance of the Medicaid program
Resources:
- Medicaid and social media messaging guide
Examples:
- Merry Medicaid Tumblr
- Infographic examining the impact of the Medicaid Expansion on Colorado's economy
- Infographic showing that Medicaid Expansion is a smart investment for Pennsylvania
- Infographic highlighting what will happen to thousands of working Arkansans if Arkansas does not expand Medicaid
- Texas advocates' My Medicaid Matters Facebook page
- New Mexico advocates' YouTube video highlighting that Medicaid rocks
- The Insuring our Future partnership's YouTube video highlighting that Medicaid matters in Colorado
- Voices for Utah Children's Mother's Day infographic that highlights what expanding Medicaid can do for women.
- Community Catalyst infographic highlighting support for Medicaid expansion in the Deep South
- Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City's infographics showing the Medicaid expansion's impact in Missouri and benefit to Missouri's economy
- Video making the case for Medicaid in Mississippi
- NAMI Ohio's videos featuring a police officer, psychiatrist, and a gentleman with treatment-resistant depression who all support Medicaid expansion
- Interactive map showing the uninsured Michiganians who would gain coverage under the Medicaid expansion
- Pennsylvanians demand Medicaid expansion via tumblr and Facebook
Tactic: Increase the number of new eligibles who enroll in Medicaid through strategic outreach and enrollment efforts
Resources:
- Community Catalyst blog that highlights policy options from CMS that make Medicaid enrollment easier
- Connecticut Health Policy Project report and recommendations on Medicaid expansion outreach
Examples:
- Health Action New Mexico community presentations on Medicaid expansion that draw a crowd using food and live blues and rock music
Other helpful toolkits
- Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Medicaid toolkit -including great resources, videos, and infographics
- Tennessee Justice Center resource page with several factsheets on the Medicaid expansion and populations that will be helped
- Kentucky Voices for Health's Medicaid Expansion Page that includes great tools for making the case for Medicaid.