How to Become Involved
Know Your Representatives
It is important to know your personal and facility representatives; both may be critical in communicating your healthcare message. You can find out who your local, state and federal representatives are by calling your county Registrar of Voters. You can visit most legislative web sites, which offer a service to locate your representative by entering your home and/or facility address.
Click here to go to the California State Assembly locator.
Join Our Committees
Click here for HASC Committees
Click here for HASC Regional Committees
Appoint a Legislative Deputy
A legislative deputy is invaluable to a hospital CEO. This person can track legislation as needed, draft letters to legislators, coordinate events with legislators, respond to legislative ALERTs and conduct CHPAC campaigns. Click here for Legislative Deputy Guidelines, which include suggestions on who to appoint, duties and approximate time commitment.
Solicit Key Contacts
An essential element in communicating your healthcare message is finding the right messenger. It is often eye opening to learn that many in your hospital or system family already have established relationships with key legislators. With the help of your legislative deputy, you can survey your managers, medical staff, board and volunteers to find out who they know and how well. Communicate these key contacts to HASC. When an important bill or issue arises, we will call your key contact with your permission.
Respond to CHA ALERTS
Click here to find out how you can advocate on the latest legislations. CHA ALERTs explain the issues, the message as well as whom to contact, how and when. Your legislative deputy can be enormously helpful.
Communicate with Legislators
Your letters, faxes, phone calls, e-mails and personal contacts can significantly impact the outcome of certain bills important to healthcare and to you personally. Legislative staffs tally all contacts they receive on policy issues, and it is in the best interest of legislators to do so. Most want to know their constituents and need to be informed of how changes in the law will affect them.
Click here to learn the formalities of addressing written salutations to officeholders.
Click here for letter-writing techniques.
Meet with Legislators
Participating in the Annual Health Policy Legislative Day in Sacramento and the California Congressional Action Program in Washington, D.C., gives you excellent opportunities to meet as a delegation with your representatives. Our lobbyists brief you on the key issues and advise you on the best communication strategies to use in your meetings. With these experiences, you may feel more comfortable hosting events at your facility.
Click here for a step-by-step guide to legislative visits in your offices or the legislator's.
Track Legislation
You can visit the CHA web site to find the hot bills our lobbyists are pursuing, as well as our official policy positions and need for grassroots advocacy. If you are interested in a past or current state bill or regulation and know the bill number, author or a few keywords, you can visit the California State Senate web site for your research.
Contribute to CHPAC
The California Hospital Association Political Action Committee (CHPAC) is a vital component to our overall advocacy program. The CHA web site contains background information, a campaign kit, legal guidelines and campaign progress statewide. The HASC CHPAC section contains FAQs, Steps on How to Get Started, Regional Campaign Progress, and a Speaker Request Form.
Click here for CHPAC Pledge Form
Sign Up for ALERTs
The California Hospital Association web site offers access to key state and federal ALERTs.
