7/21/17
Together with virtually every medical and voluntary patient health organization in the country, the American Liver Foundation has taken a stand in the current national debate about the government’s role in health care and health insurance.
As a trusted voice for individuals living with liver disease, our position is that the supports offered by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) should be stabilized and expanded, not cut back. With that in mind, we have actively opposed ACA repeal and any other legislation that would limit access to treatment for liver disease. In addition, we advocate for increased funding for liver research and viral hepatitis testing, vaccination and treatment.
In order to help our constituents speak out effectively, ALF has implemented Voter Voice, a software application, to provide user-friendly technology that simplifies sending messages to elected representatives. Visitors to our website, www.liverfoundation.org/advocacy now see a summary of our 2017 legislative agenda, a synopsis of our advocacy campaigns and blog posts and can sign up to receive action alerts by email. They can also track legislation and easily reach out to their representatives at the federal and state levels.
A recent advocacy campaign took the form of a Facebook post on July 7th. We issued a call to action, “Tell your Senators to Vote NO on the Better Care Reconciliation Act.” One hundred and seventy-five people reacted and 89 of them shared the post. Thirty people commented and 130 used the embedded technology to send a message to their state’s two senators.
Another message, on June 13th, had a less specific call to action and resulted in 211 reactions, 19 comments, 133 shares and 318 outreaches to Congress. In addition to measuring how many grassroots messages were sent, we could see whether the sender had advocated through this channel before and we were even able to see whether messages went to undecided or already-committed senators.
“We are delighted with ALF’s new capacity. We can reach out to comment on critical legislation through our website, Facebook, email messaging and Twitter. At times like these, it is part of ALF’s mission to enable people living with liver disease to participate more fully in the legislative process,” said Lynn Seim, ALF’s EVP & Chief Operating Officer.
Sincerely,
Tom Nealon
National Board Chair & CEO
American Liver Foundation
