Transcript Document

Herndon Alliance
Broadening the Support for Health Care Reform
by Tapping into American Values
January 19, 2007
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Herndon Alliance
The Challenge—
We continue to fail at health care reform, even though
across the board voters want action on this issue.
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Do you favor or oppose expanding access to affordable, quality
health care for all Americans even if it means raising taxes?
Total
80%
Men
67%
Women
67%
67%
70%
60%
50%
+40
+39
40%
27%
28%
+41
26%
30%
* Darker colors
show intensity
20%
10%
0%
Favor Oppose
Favor Oppose
Favor Oppose
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Source: LRP (with: SEIU, AHC): Nov. 5-7, 2006
Herndon Alliance
Unifying Goal
What can we do
differently to achieve
guaranteed affordable
health care for all
Americans?
Increase the health
access constituency
base
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Herndon Alliance
Why?
The Thinking Behind the Herndon Alliance
o We want success at making health care affordable and
accessible to all Americans
o To experience success, we need to reframe the health
reform discussion
o To experience success we need to build coalitions to
work in partnership within and across states
o To experience success we need to broaden the base
that supports reform
o To broaden the base, we need to connect with and
speak to the values and beliefs people hold
o To experience success we need to engage and activate
this new base on the state and national level
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Herndon Alliance
Who Is the Herndon Alliance?
o Sixty national, state, and local partners—including
advocacy, faith, labor, and provider groups
o Funders including California Endowment for Health,
Missouri Foundation for Health, Nathan Cummings
Foundation, OSI, Patricia Bauman Foundation, Public
Welfare Foundation
o Consulting partners—American Environics and Lake
Research Partners
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Herndon Alliance
What approach have we taken?
o Research the values and the beliefs American voters
hold about health care reform
o Develop narratives and supporting strategic initiatives
o Define the frame and messaging that connects these
initiatives to the health base and swing constituencies
o Test the frames, messaging, and initiatives
o Address issues and answer questions that are
barriers to health reform
o Get narratives, messaging, and refined policies into
the public arena, state and national discussion
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Herndon Alliance
Why This Coalition—
Why This Approach
o Health reform is a winning issue
o We are most effective working together
o We are most effective when there is coherence and
consistency in our narratives, messaging, and policy
options
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Herndon Alliance
Herndon Alliance’s Three Major
Accomplishments in 2006
ONE:
The research identified the beliefs and values held by the
current health reform base as well as the swing constituents
who share some key values and beliefs as the base.
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Herndon Alliance
Top Ten Values—
Health Reform Base
1. Social Responsibility
2. Fear of Violence
3. Primacy of the Family
4. National Pride
5. Culture Sampling
6. Personal Expression
7. Ethical Consumerism
8. Propriety
9. Time Stress
10.Voluntary Simplicity
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Herndon Alliance
Constituencies of Opportunity
Base (15%)
o Support health care for all
and taxes to support it.
o “It’s immoral not to insure
everyone.”
Proper Patriots (40%)
o Focused on personal
responsibility, everyday ethics
and national pride.
o “In America, we can do better —
but people have to take
personal responsibility!”
o Overlapping values with the base
include: national pride, personal
expression, primacy of the family.
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Herndon Alliance
Constituencies of Opportunity
Marginalized Middle-Agers(15%)
o Looking for assistance and status.
o “I just need some help.”
Mobile Materialists (12%)
o Most extreme in asserting
self-interest.
o “What will it cost me?”
Drifters (8%)
o Young, few prospects and
uninvolved.
o Low on traditional values.
o Need and want health care.
o Future base.
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Herndon Alliance
Herndon Alliance’s Three Major
Accomplishments in 2006
TWO:
The values research and subsequent polling resulted in
four popular (all polling with 80% or more favorability)
strategic concepts:
o Guaranteed affordable plan
o Healthy generation
o Universal cancer screenings
o Health care bill of rights
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Herndon Alliance
Guaranteed Affordable Plan
Every American would have
guaranteed access to a choice
of standard, affordable health
plans, either buying it from a
private insurer, or from a public
plan provided by an independent
non-profit agency. . . . Everyone
would have a choice of plans,
private and public, that would be
affordable to them based on a
sliding scale.
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Herndon Alliance
Healthy Generation Concept
We can encourage and make possible
the healthiest and strongest generation
of children ever. We must:
o Restore P.E.
o Demand higher quality school
lunches
o Ban junk food ads
o Start an ad campaign:
good eating, less TV, physical
activity, family dinners
o Cover all American children who
currently lack health coverage
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Herndon Alliance
Universal Cancer Screening
We have an obligation as a
country to make sure that all
Americans get screened for
cancer before it’s too late. . . .
Everyone would have a choice of
getting this screening from
his/her own doctor, health
provider, or any publicly funded
health clinic.
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Herndon Alliance
Health Care Bill of Rights
o Essential services, preventative
care.
o Keep insurance if move or change
jobs.
o No patient charged higher price
than others for same service.
o Can’t deny insurance because of a
pre-existing condition.
o No discrimination on age or health.
o Insurance companies must get
approval to raise rates above
inflation.
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Herndon Alliance
Herndon Alliance’s Three Major
Accomplishments in 2006
THREE:
We learned a lot.
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Herndon Alliance
The Findings—
The values research conducted by American Environics and the
focus groups and polling conducted by Lake Research Partners
resulted in the following findings.
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Herndon Alliance
What Did We Learn?
o How We Talk About Health Care.
o Moral and Consumer Frameworks that Resonate.
o What Voters Are Looking For in Health Care.
o What Barriers Do We Need to Address.
o What Values and Messages Move Voters.
o What Words Work.
o How to Begin to Overcome Barriers.
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Herndon Alliance
How We Talk About Health Care
Right
Left
Who’s Getting Between You & Your Doctor?
Government as Intruder
Corporations as Intruders
Consumers of Health Care
Consumer Empowerment
Consumer Protection
Rights Narratives
The Best Care When You Need It
Human Rights
Government Intervention
Irresponsible and Dependent
Social Contract
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Herndon Alliance
Moral and Consumer Frameworks
o No American should be denied access to
health care.
o “Quality affordable health care” more
appealing than “universal coverage.”
—Bridges the uninsured and the
underinsured to the insured who are
worried about rising costs
o Voters connect to and think about health
care as consumers—they feel they are
getting less for more.
—How does it affect me or my family?
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Herndon Alliance
What Voters are Looking For in
Health Care
o Control, peace of mind and
guarantees.
o Pride in an American solution for
making the future better.
o Better choices, not more choice.
o Others to take personal
responsibility . . . . especially the
“undeserving.”
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Herndon Alliance
Barriers to Health Care Reform
Strong opposition to helping the
“undeserving” and questions about
“personal responsibility.”
— the non-working, the lazy, and illegal
immigrants
— once it is perceived that personal
responsibility has been met, voters
are generous
— parents must be seen as taking
responsibility for their kids health
— adults need to pay something
and/or take care of own health
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Herndon Alliance
Barriers to Health Care Reform
Cynicism about government
— The government should not be providing health care
— What role should the government play?
Fear of higher costs, higher taxes, lower quality of care
— Who will pay?
— 80% of those polled believe all reform efforts will
increase their taxes
— 55% of those polled are not certain the quality of care
will improve if reforms are undertaken
— Blocked altruism . . . . What do I lose?
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Herndon Alliance
Key Values and Messages That
Move Voters
o Quality affordable health care is a value, not just a commodity
and a moral obligation when focused on “deserving” recipients
such as kids and seniors
o Responsibility is a two-way street
— Take care of self
— Pay something
— Fairness for those who work hard and play by the rules
o American ingenuity
— An American solution with doable steps
o An aspirational vision of the future
o Government as an enforcer of rules and watchdog
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Herndon Alliance
Key Values and Messages That
Move Voters
Prevention as a smart investment
— Potential escalator
— Common sense . . . . Pay now or pay more later
— Encourages personal responsibility
— Clear role for rules and government
— Wellness does not test well
Peace of mind
— Want affordable health care that mirrors life’s transitions
(kids turning 21, divorce, new job, retirement, etc)
— Want affordable health care that mirrors transitions in
economy (outsourcing, mergers, etc)
Control, better choices, real options
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Herndon Alliance
What Words Work
Words to Use
Words not to Use
Guaranteed
Required
Giving people control;
peace of mind
Government health
care for all
Standard package;
affordable health plans
Basic health care
Public/private partnership
Public health care
Government
enforcement/watchdog
Government health
care; public health care
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Herndon Alliance
What Words Work
Words to Use
Words to Avoid
Quality affordable health
care
American health care
Universal coverage
Sliding scale
Medicare for All; A system
like Social Security;
Canadian Style Health
Care
Free
Prevention
Wellness
Smart investments;
investing in the future
Choice
Inexpensive
Competition
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Rules
Regulations
Herndon Alliance
Overcoming Barriers
o Incorporate an Element of Personal Responsibility
o Include Options and Choices in Proposals
o Use Preventative Care as a Stepping Stone
o Find a Uniquely American solution
o Emphasize Security and Peace of Mind
o Focus on Our Support for Small Business
o Propose Initiatives that Reflect Voter Values on Health Care
o Define a Role for Government as Watchdog and Rule Maker
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o Animate Anger, not Fear
Herndon Alliance
What’s Next—
Phase Five
In the Field:
Policy Refinement, Communications, Coordination
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Herndon Alliance
2007 Focus
The focus of HA’s work during the time period January 2007December 2007 is on:
o Communications (capacity development)
o Coordination (coalition building)
o Refining first-stage research and strategic initiatives
(asking and answering questions relating to barriers
such as funding/revenue, responsibility, government,
and immigration) and translating into workable policy
solutions that address values and beliefs of voters
o State and national civic engagement
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Herndon Alliance
2007 Goals
o Develop up to three strategic initiatives so they are usable
by partners at the national and state level (and tested in two
states). This includes answering questions of content so
initiatives can be refined into specific policy proposals.
o Get strategic initiatives and the supporting narratives into
public discussion in ten states. Support the content of
communications in the ten states with more intensive
support in three state based campaigns.
o Work with partners to ensure health care is in the public
discussion at the national level and assist in refining the
policies so that the policies and narratives they are
broadening the base and moving public opinion significantly
toward affordable health care for all people.
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Herndon Alliance
How Your Grantees
Can Benefit—
—
—
—
—
Resources
Values, Messaging
Policy Options
Safe Table
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Herndon Alliance
Resources
o Communications strategies and tools
-Framing, messaging and initiatives
-Website materials
o Communications support
-Consultation
-Customization of work
-Training
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Herndon Alliance
Values and Messaging
o Understand the local audience
o Improve ability to connect effectively
o Animate issues of local concern with relevance to the
majority of the public
o Improve chances for success
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Herndon Alliance
Policy Options
o Answer the hard questions all health advocates face:
– What is government’s role?
– How to overcome the aversion to taxes?
– How can we include all people – even those that
some consider irresponsible or undeserving?
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Herndon Alliance
Safe Table
o The groups we work with – advocates, faith groups,
labor, providers and others often do not communicate
well.
o We provide a place and a focus that brings them
together.
o This allows effective partnering at the state and national
level and sharing of best practices.
o Provides Consistency and coherence to the polices
being discussed.
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Herndon Alliance
How Grantmakers
Can Be Involved—
o Local groups need capacity to be effective
- Communications, coordination, and policy
- Legal and economic support
o Customizing the values research, messaging, and policy
refinement that answer the hard questions faced by
grantees
o Opportunities for safe table discussions
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Herndon Alliance
American Environics & Lake Research Partners
Thank You
contact: Bob Crittenden
[email protected]
[email protected]
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