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Adopt-A-Leg

What Is Adopt-A-Leg?

The Adopt-a-Legislator program exists to carry CAHU's message to Sacramento's Capitol Hill, and establish relationships of trust with legislators. Most often Legislators are personally interested in just a handful of public policy issues. On other issues, legislators depend upon input from people whose opinions they respect and trust. Legislators always strive to be responsive to the constituents who elected them to office.

Adopting a legislator means building a personal relationship with your legislator so he/she views you and CAHU as a primary resource for insurance and health care issues. When applicable, it means contacting your legislator as a constituent and letting him/her know what CAHU's positions are and why.

An Adopter is not a lobbyist - CAHU has outstanding professional lobbyists. Instead, CAHU needs your grassroots participation. You will be asked to write letters, send e-mails, and meet with your adopted legislators to present CAHU's positions. You are not being asked to play the "political game."

CAHU's goal is to have every member of the State Assembly and State Senate adopted by a CAHU member.

What Will CAHU Expect of Me?

Each CAHU member participating in the Adopt-A-Legislator Program represents CAHU. CAHU asks each Adopt-A-Leg participant to participant to follow these guidelines:

  • When you participate in the Adopt-A-Leg program, you are representing CAHU. You are responsible for communicating official CAHU positions only, not your own viewpoint.
  • If you disagree with a CAHU position for any reason, call your Legislative Chair to discuss philosophical differences. However, if you cannot support CAHU's official positions on pending legislative issues, then you should not participate in Adopt-a-Leg. CAHU Members must speak with one voice.
  • Your local Legislative Chair, CAHU's Vice President of Legislation, and CAHU's lobbyists are available to provide information and guidance.
  • Recruit other health insurance industry professionals to participate in CAHU's Adopt-A-Leg program. Greater participation strengthens CAHU's Legislative Program.
  • Attendance at CAHU's annual Day at the Capitol in Sacramento is an intrinsic component of relationship-building with your legislators. DATC also provides a perfect opportunity to exchange ideas and information with other CAHU members.
  • Visit CAHU's various reports on its website Under Bills & Legislation Top 10 Review and Monday Morning Report to stay informed about legislative issues, programs, CAHU's positions, and the status of bills that CAHU is tracking.
  • Keep in close contact with your Local Legislative Chair.

How Do I Adopt a Legislator?

Usually, you will be asked to adopt a legislator in your own district. However, an exception will be made if you have an existing relationship with a legislator in another district. In order of priority, CAHU's goals for legislator adoption are: (1) legislators on key Assembly and Senate committees; (2) Assembly and Senate leaders; (3) all remaining State legislators

  • You can find out who represents you in the California Assembly or Senate at this link
  • Once you've been assigned to adopt a legislator, please report to CAHU your assigned legislators information by Clicking Here to Adopt a Legislator
Gathering Information
  • It's obviously helpful to learn about him or her. Therefore, resources might include your local Legislative Chair, contacting CAHU's Lobbyist and checking the internet for additional information. The Assembly's website is www.assembly.ca.gov and the Senate's website is www.senate.ca.gov.

Additional suggestions for information that might help you have a better perspective and avoid an initial misstep in building your relationship would be to know:

  • Their in-district and Capitol office addresses, phones, FAX & Email.
  • Your legislators political party affiliation, liberal/conservative/centrist
  • When elected and when term expires.
  • Committees they sit on.
  • Their key areas of interest?
  • Have they been involved with or sponsored healthcare legislation?
  • Are they associated with any high-visibility issues?
  • Who are their allies? Their adversaries?
  • What were the latest election results? Did they win in a safe district? By a large margin? Defeat an incumbent?
  • Their key staff people (chief of staff; healthcare or insurance specialists) in their district and Capitol offices?
What Are My Responsibilities?
  • Establish a personal one-on-one relationship with your assigned legislator(s) and his/her staff. (If you have an existing personal relationship with a legislator, please advise CAHU's Vice President of Legislation and CAHU's lobbyists.)
  • Meet with your legislator(s) and their staff once per month if possible, and at least once every six weeks, in their district offices - during the first 8 months of the year while the state legislature is in session. If appropriate, bring a client who can elaborate on how agents bring value to consumers. Depending on the legislative environment, you may be asked to meet with your legislator more often and sometimes in other locations like their Capitol offices.
  • Maintain the relationship with phone calls. Use these calls to discuss a pending bill or other healthcare issues. Be creative and use your imagination to build good relationships. Some ideas to maintain contact are to:
    • Include legislator and/or staff in selected chapter events
    • Invite your legislator to be a guest speaker at a chapter meeting
    • Attend local events that feature your legislators and make appearances at their fundraisers.
  • Be responsive when CAHU asks you to participate in Operation Drumbeat .CAHU will provide you with a synopsis of the issue and arguments to counter opposing views. You'll need to send e-mails, make phone calls, or send letters to your adopted legislators within the specified timeframe for action. Call your local Legislative Chair for assistance.
  • Report your contacts and meetings Click here to submit online Adopt-A-Leg Meeting Report. (this report is automatically sent to CAHU's Lobbyist, VP of Legislation and Executive Director) 
    • Keep your local Legislative Chair in the loop by notifying him or her in advance when you plan to meet with or call your legislators and how the meeting went for any advice or strategizing on future visits.
    • Follow-through is extremely important therefore if you are unable to continue your service, please notify your local Legislative Chair to make sure your adopted legislator continues to receive contact.
Scheduling the First Appointment

Once you have some background information, schedule a time to meet your in their district office. When the legislature is in session, they are usually in their district office on Friday. When not in session (September through December), they should be in their district offices most of the time.

Conducting the Appointment
  • Contact your local Legislative Chair before you schedule your first meeting. Ask for information on CAHU's key healthcare or insurance issues.
  • If this is your first meeting, consider asking your Legislative Chair to arrange for an experienced member to go with you.
  • Your first meeting should be low key. You should:
    • Introduce yourself as a member of CAHU and its Adopt-A-Leg Program.
    • Using the NAHU "Role of the Agent" brochure, and also the NAHU "Faces of the Uninsured" brochure, explain what you do as an insurance agent. These two brochures are available from CAHU (two of each brochure PER adopted legislator) once a year. You may also want to use a special "CAHU AAL Presentation" PowerPoint slide show in your in-district meetings with legislators, when a current, updated version is available from year to year. Please check with your local Leg Chair for its availability. You may also order a supply of these NAHU brochures by clicking on the following link to NAHU: (Click here for link to NAHU Brochures)
    • Offer to assist the legislator and his/her staff when healthcare issues arise.
    • In this first meeting, you don't need to discuss CAHU's positions or ask the legislator for anything. You are simply getting acquainted. If a more experienced member is with you, he/she may use the opportunity to present a CAHU position or information on a key issue.
    • As a representative of CAHU, please refrain from expressing your personal opinions or pursuing your own political agendas. If you are unsure of CAHU's policies or positions, don't guess. Instead, offer to research the matter and get back to the legislator promptly.
Additional Tips for Success When Meeting With Legislators
  • Be prompt and stay within your scheduled time.
  • Introduce yourself and your association and leave your card.
  • Leave a copy of the "Role of the Agent" brochure.
  • Offer to advise the staff and the legislator on healthcare insurance issues.
  • Send a follow-up letter thanking the legislator for their time. (See Sample Below)
  • Do not discuss politics, argue, or use the phrase "I'm a taxpayer," for any reason
  • Do not ever discuss or hand the legislator a campaign contribution when they are on State property. This includes their in-district and Capitol offices.
Report the Appointment

It's vitally important for CAHU's Legislative Program to keep track of contacts with legislators. Please use this convenient online Adopt-A-Leg Contact Sheet to report your legislator contacts and any pertinent feedback.
meetings Click here to submit online Adopt-A-Leg Meeting Report. (this report is automatically sent to CAHU's Lobbyist, VP of Legislation and Executive Director)

 

Send Thank You Letter

After your visit, follow-up with a short thank you note to the legislator, repeating your offer to serve as a healthcare insurance resource. (See Sample Below)

Date

The Honorable Legislator Name
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear ________:

It was a pleasure meeting with you on _____________ (date) to discuss ______________ (topics discussed) and the role of the professional health insurance agent. Thank you for your time and the opportunity to share views on upcoming legislation.

The California Association of Health Underwriters is committed to making a positive contribution as you deal with the complex and challenging issues of healthcare reform. We hope you will take advantage of our offer to serve as a resource when these issues arise.

My business card is attached. Please don't hesitate to call if I can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

Your Legible Name and Signature

Future Contacts With Your Legislators & Responding to CAHU'S Operation Drumbeat E-Alerts

CAHU will send out an Operation Drumbeat when it's time for you to call, write, or e-mail your legislators.

Legislators don't like to be contacted about an issue until it's time for them to pay attention to that issue.

The Operation Drumbeat will give you the timeframe by which your calls, letters, or e-mails must be sent. Usually, these timeframes are very short, a few days at most. (This is not poor planning on CAHU's part; it's how the legislative process works.)

Your willingness to respond on short notice is critical to insuring that CAHU's issues are addressed.

Calling Your Legislator

If you have an established relationship with both your legislator and his/her staff, your phone call should be casual. Call the legislative aide that deals with healthcare issues and discuss the bill with which CAHU is concerned. Or, if you have a close relationship, call the Senator or Assembly representative directly.

When you get a Legislative Alert, you might be asked to call your adopted legislator. If this seems intimidating, here are some tips:

  • Read the background information, fact sheets, arguments for and against the bill, and CAHU's position before you make your calls
  • Identify yourself
  • Tell the person who answers the phone that you are calling to ask Senator Smith or Assembly Member Jones to support or oppose AB or SB XXX.
  • Indicate where the bill is in the process (in a specific committee or on the floor).

A typical call goes very quickly. Generally the staffer answering the phone will note your opinion and end the call and sometimes you will be transferred to the legislator's aide who is working on the bill.

If that happens, you might be able to discuss the bill in more length, but that's the exception rather than the rule.

Regardless of its length, the phone call is an important part of the grassroots legislative process and each call is tracked. Most legislators count the number of calls for and against a specific bill and their constituents viewpoints do have an impact.

Writing Your Legislator

CAHU will provide you with background information, fact sheets, and arguments for and against a bill when asking you to send letters or emails to your legislators.

  • Make your point in the first paragraph.
  • Keep letters to one page whenever possible.
  • Use your agency's letterhead or put your address and phone number underneath your signature.
  • Email or FAX letters to legislators' offices and mail the originals.
  • Letters should be faxed and mailed to the Capitol offices.
  • If a legislator responds favorably to your communication, either by a return letter or by voting as you requested, it's great to send them a thank you note.

Your letter (or email) should look like this:

Date

The Honorable Legislator Name
Member, California State Senate or Assembly
State Capitol, Room _____
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Senator or Assembly Member ________:

I am writing in (support of or opposition to) AB/SB XXX.

If passed, AB/SB XXX will have the following effects: (explain the positive or negative effects the bill will have on you, your clients, and consumers in general; state why the legislator should support or oppose it.)

For these reasons, I respectfully request that you (support or oppose) AB/SB XXX. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Your legible name and signature

cc: CAHU's Vice President of Legislation

CAHU's Lobbyists