How to Have a Successful Capitol Hill Meeting
- Schedule your meeting beforehand.
Follow the instructions on how to set up a meeting with your Member of Congress’ office. Be prepared to give your business card to the front office assistant when you arrive for your meeting.
- DO NOT BE LATE FOR YOUR MEETING!
Note that it takes several minutes to clear security and even more time to walk between House office buildings. Give yourself no less than 20 minutes to walk between the House and Senate buildings if that is necessary. Build in extra time to get to your meetings to ensure that you are not late.
- Introduce Yourself
When you introduced yourself, connect yourself to the District or State of the person you are meeting with. Many of the staff that you will be meeting with are also from that area and you may even have a connection with that person. - Prepare for the meeting beforehand.
Just like you would study for a test, read up on the issue(s) that you plan to discuss with your Member of Congress or his/her staff beforehand. You should also learn your legislators’ Committee assignments and general biographical information (available on their websites).
Practice what you are going to say with other meeting attendees so you will know who takes what responsibility during the meeting. You don’t have to memorize all of the points that you would like to make, feel free to reference your notes during the meeting. Provide a brief overview of the issue and educate them in terms that are easy to understand.
Provider Status: HR 592/S. 109 would recognize pharmacists and their services in Medicare Part B. This bill would allow Medicare patients in medically underserved areas access to pharmacists’ services (that are within their state’s scope of practice).
- Tell Your Story
The best way to get your point across in your meeting is to tell your personal story. You can talk about the patients that you have helped through medication therapy management and the improved lives they have through your care and service. Talk about how you are not currently reimbursed by Medicare for this service but that you feel that all of your patients would benefit from this type of care. - Plan on a 15 minute meeting.
Fifteen minutes doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but it is plenty of time to get your point across to the person you will be meeting with. Be sure to connect ahead of time with others who will be in the meeting with you so you can use your meeting time most effectively. Make sure that you allow everyone to be a part of the conversation.
- Be Flexible.
Capitol Hill offices are generally pretty small and do not allow for a lot of meeting space. Don’t be too surprised if you must take a meeting in the hallway or the lobby of the Members’ office. Make the most of the time with the staff you are meeting with, no matter the location.
- Anticipate Young Faces
Many staff on Capitol Hill are young and recent college graduates. Despite their age, they are the gatekeepers to the legislator and have a lot of influence. All Hill staff should be treated with the utmost respect.
- Don’t be Afraid to Say “I Don’t Know”
Staff will have questions for you and many times it is impossible to know all of the answers. Don’t be afraid to tell them you don’t know the answer but that you will be happy to look into it and get back to them with an answer. Many times, this type of follow-up is a great way to re-connect with staff after a meeting.
- Make the Request
As long as your Congressperson or Senators have not signed onto HR 592 or S. 109, then your request is that they cosponsor the bill. Make sure that you conclude your meeting by verbally asking that they sign onto the bill to show their support. It is very important that you actually make the specific ask.
If the person you are meeting with (or their boss) has already supported these bills, be sure to thank them. You can tell the same stories that you would if you were asking them to support the bill. This ensures that they understand the impact of their support has on you and your patients.
- Send a Thank You Note
Email is the quickest way to communicate with people on Capitol Hill and is a perfectly acceptable way to follow-up with a thank you note to the staff that you met with. All stamped mail that is sent to Capitol Hill must go through an irradiation process that will severely delay the delivery. Be sure to reiterate your request in your thank you email and offer yourself as a resource should they have any further questions. It is also a great idea to offer the legislator a tour of your pharmacy or school when he/she is back in the District/State. These tours offer a great opportunity to see pharmacists in action and the positive impact you are making with your patients and in the community.
- Follow up with APhA
It is important for APhA staff to know how your meetings went – good or bad. APhA can also provide you with any answers to those questions you may not have known the answer to during the meeting. Please send Alicia Kerry Mica () an email to let her know the status of your meetings.