GET INVOLVED

All politics are local.  Lawmakers need to build trust with their constituents in order to feel comfortable with the decisions that they make.  The fact of the matter is that your legislators need to hear from you.  Candidates for office need to look to you as the health care experts as they build their platforms.  Physicians must be involved if they want to stay in the game.  If every physician in Tennessee spent just one day a year or a few minutes each month fighting for their profession, organized medicine would be the premier health care lobby in Nashville.  Below are just a few things you can do that will truly make a difference.

Be an Advocate for Organized Medicine

The TMA encourages grassroots participation in the political process.  Grassroots advocacy enables legislators to hear from doctors on issues before it is voted on in committee or on the floor.  It also reminds them that their constituents are watching the decisions that they make.  Becoming involved is as simple as reading the weekly Legistat disseminated during the legislative session and heeding the alerts from staff that it is important to communicate with key legislators by using our electronic call-to-action program or picking up the phone and calling your legislator.  Don’t forget when it comes to health care, YOU are the expert and lawmakers want and need to hear your opinion.

Host a campaign fundraiser or just make a donation yourself. Legislators must raise more money than ever to win a House or Senate seat and they are very grateful to constituents who help them in their bid.

Volunteer at a campaign office, put a sign up in your yard and ask others to do the same, campaign door-to-door, send letters to your physician colleagues and/or patients in support of candidates or host a neighborhood meet-and-greet.

All of these things are simple and cost very little, yet they make a huge and lasting impact on candidates. These small things may help open the door to your legislator when an important issue arises on the Hill.

Attend PITCH or serve as Doctor of the Day.   

Both of these events are high-profile and provide a great way for you to get to know your senator or representative.