Pick Up the Phone! Tell Your Representative and Senators to Protect Medicaid in Budget Negotiations

We must find a balanced approach to reducing the national deficit that keeps our families and communities healthy. Call your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators today and tell them to protect Medicaid!

Medicaid provides a safety net for 850,000 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children, 180,000 elders, and many members of our community with disabilities. Nearly 1 in 10 Asian Americans and more than 1 in 8 Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are projected to gain Medicaid coverage when the program expands in 2014.

To call your Representative, follow these simple steps:

Call the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. It is best to call in the morning Eastern Time to avoid problems because of different time zones between your state and Washington, D.C.

When the switchboard operators answer, ask to be connected to the office of your Representative.

In order to speak with your Representative’s office, you will need to give the operator your zip code. In some cases, there is more than one congressional district within a zip code, so you may need to give the operator your full address to determine the correct Representative.

The operator will then connect you to your Representative’s office.

Sample Phone Script:

“I am a constituent calling from [YOUR CITY AND STATE]. Here in [YOUR CITY], our seniors, children, and people with disabilities rely on Medicaid to access their health care. Please support increasing revenue and defend against devastating cuts to Medicaid. Cutting Medicaid means more people will wait until they get very sick to go to the doctor, raising costs for everyone. Cutting Medicaid means caretakers and providers will lose their jobs. Our economy cannot recover by destroying this essential program for the vulnerable while giving tax breaks to the wealthy. Thank you for taking my call and for representing the people of [YOUR CITY] in Washington.”