Advocacy Introduction: Why Your Voice Matters

Overview

What Is Advocacy?

Advocacy Introduction: Why Your Voice Matters

What is Advocacy

Overview

Awareness

Advancement

Action

Why Advocate

Overview

Top 5 Concerns About Advocacy

What Makes Me The Right Advocate?

How Can I Be An Advocate

Overview

Develop Your Message

Find Your Lawmaker

Activate Your Voice

Raise The Volume

Real-Life Impact

Advocacy in Action: Utah

Advocacy In Action: Capitol Hill

Learn More

Overview

In this training we will cover:

What
is Advocacy?
Review the different types of advocacy and identify ways you’re already involved.
Why
Advocate?
Learn about why advocacy is important and why you are the right advocate for vision care.
How
can I be an Advocate?
Explore our introduction to four easy steps to becoming an advocate and find out how you can learn more.

WHAT IS ADVOCACY : Overview

What
is Advocacy?

Awareness
Advancement
Action

Advocacy can mean many things to many different people and there are often a range of other terms and actions associated with advocacy — like lobbying or government relations — that can add to the confusion of what we mean when we talk about the importance of advocacy.

In short, the goal of advocacy is usually to change — or prevent a change — in a position or policy, depending on your audience. In fact, there is a good chance that you have already engaged in advocacy at some time in your life — maybe without even knowing it.

We think of advocacy falling into three key steps: Awareness, Advancement, and Action.

WHAT IS ADVOCACY : Awareness

What
is Advocacy?

Awareness
Advancement
Action

Awareness is how we educate and build understanding around our issues in our communities.

Because of awareness, we can:

Identify key issues
Build a diverse voice
Mobilize

You’re probably already helping build awareness if:

As a patient, you share issues about your health care experience with your family or community
As a provider, you explain the importance of regular eye care to patients or the challenges around the passive verification process with your colleagues

It’s also important to not just talk about the challenges we’re facing...but to do something.

WHAT IS ADVOCACY : Advancement

What
is Advocacy?

Awareness
Advancement
Action

Advancement is adding your voice to organizations or movements that are working to advance top priorities.

Organizations make it simple for you to support advancement of top priorities for our community by:

Becoming a member of a state or national organization
Adding your name to a petition
Donating to support a specific issue
Signing up for timely and informative emails

By raising awareness and supporting organizations to advance our top priorities, you’ve built a strong foundation to take action and become an advocate for change.

WHAT IS ADVOCACY : Action

What
is Advocacy?

Awareness
Advancement
Action

Action is taking direct initiative, through advocacy activities such as:

Sending personalized letters to your state and federal representatives
Meeting in-person with your lawmakers to discuss your experiences and concerns
Calling your representatives to share your voice and register your support for specific policies.

Johnson & Johnson Vision has worked to make taking action as easy as possible by providing advocates with a simple, two-step process to send a letter to your representative in congress.

WHY ADVOCATE : Overview

Why
Advocate?

Advocacy has never been more important.

Today, we face unprecedented legislative challenges in states across the country and at the federal level that could change the foundation of our industry.

In 2016 alone, we saw efforts to:

Extend contact lens prescription expiration limits to upwards of three years; and
Replace the medical expertise of an eye care professional and the value of a face to face exam with a simple online questionnaire.

We know these challenges are not going away. But we also know how we protect patients’ health and safety, strengthen the profession, and ensure an even better future for vision care — you.

We’ve seen how the combined voices of eye care professionals, patients, and allies have stopped dangerous proposals and helped to move forward policies that would improve vision care health and safety time and time again.

But as these challenges grow, we need to ensure our collective voices are even louder.

WHY ADVOCATE : Top 5 Concerns About Advocacy

Why
Advocate?

As legislators continue to consider potential policy changes that could significantly impact our industry, your insight, experience, and perspective has never been more important. Still, some have shared their concerns about getting involved in advocacy:

Interest

“Politics is crazy — and I have no interest in being involved in that kind of spectacle.”

We Hear You: But, if you aren’t advocating, someone else is...and that person may not share your views on the importance of the doctor-patient relationship or why a simple Q&A can’t replace a comprehensive exam.
Confidence

“I know a lot about the complexities of the human visual system...but some of these issues are totally new to me.”

We Hear You: There are a ton of issues that matter to our industry. Some are easy to understand and some are more complex — which is why we’ve created an easy to use resource page to get you up to speed and able to speak with confidence about issues that are important to you and our industry.
Someone Else Will Do It Better

“There are other, well-known advocates who better understand these issues”

We Hear You: But, your experiences and insights are unique to you, and there is no one better to share them than you. The only way for us to make a real impact is for all of us to raise our voices.
Cost

“Training and paying dues isn’t easy — I just can’t afford to join every organization and cause.”

We Hear You: But there’s good news! There are low-cost and free ways to get involved! Sending letters, calling your representative, signing a petition, and free resources, like the Advocacy Academy, provide training you need to take action.
Time

“My patients deserve my time and attention and my efforts need to be focused on my work and practice.”

We Hear You: We know you have busy and challenging lives. With the current challenges facing patients, providers, and the rest of vision care, if we don’t advocate — together — the future of our industry may be at stake.

WHY ADVOCATE : What Makes Me The Right Advocate?

Why
Advocate?

No one better understands the importance of protecting patients’ health and safety better than you. You see patients and the real-life consequences of unsafe lens wear and care in your exam rooms and see first-hand how the challenges of today can impact the future of our industry.

What makes you the right advocate for vision care?

You are a voter.

You have the power to decide who gets elected to make laws that impact the vision care industry and its patients.

It is your right to make sure the people you elect to Congress incorporate your views as they create and pass important laws.
You are credible, by either being an existing contact lens patient or eye care provider.

Your voice is authentic — no one is better suited to relay the issues facing vision care patients than you.

You are the expert — members of Congress and their staff likely know very little about vision care.
You can share examples of real stories and put a face to often complex issues.

You don’t need to use technical or industry-specific language to convey your message.

Short and simple anecdotes and real-life examples are powerful tools to break apart or highlight a dense issue, which will help a lawmaker better understand your concerns.

At the end of the day, the stakes are real and undeniable — with patients’ health and safety hanging in the balance. You are equipped to influence successful outcomes for vision health and safety.

How Can I Be An Advocate : Overview

How
can I be an Advocate?

While there are lots of ways to get involved in advocacy — from building awareness to supporting organizations working to advance industry priorities — you can make a real difference when you take direct action.

There are four key steps to taking action and becoming an advocate for vision care:

Develop your message

Find your lawmaker

Activate your voice

Raise the volume

How Can I Be An Advocate : Develop Your Message

How
can I be an Advocate?

Develop your message

Make it personal:

Your unique story is a strategic piece of the larger advocacy effort. You are the BEST voice to tell YOUR story — making your messages personal puts a real face, real patient, and real voter to our top issues.

Keep it consistent:

Providers and patients alike have a vested interest in safeguarding high quality vision care. We win when we all speak from the same voice — this helps lawmakers have a consistent view on key concerns.

Use data:

The facts are persuasive, especially when woven into your story. Backing your personal stories with research and data makes our messaging compelling, keeps us credible, and increases the urgency of taking action.

Stay simple and direct:

Tailor your message to reinforce the most pressing topics.There are so many issues at stake, but we are most effective when we keep it simple and directly speak to only our top issues.

How Can I Be An Advocate : Find Your Lawmaker

How
can I be an Advocate?

Find your lawmaker

Federal lawmakers

Your federal lawmakers are responsible for passing legislation that may affect vision care policy on a national level.

State lawmakers

Your state lawmakers are tasked with passing legislation that applies to your individual state — different states have varying vision care regulations based on laws or codes.

How Can I Be An Advocate : Activate Your Voice

How
can I be an Advocate?

Activate your voice

Send letters

Either via U.S. postal service or, even better, via email. You can personalize standard advocacy language to best relay your unique story.
Call your representative

More effective for registering your support or opposition for specific legislation. The congressional aide who fields your call may also have public position statements to share, information about a vote, a town hall meeting, or another public engagement that may be of interest to you.
Schedule a meeting

Often, nothing is more impactful than a face-to-face meeting where you can put a “person behind the issue.”

Your representatives and/or their staff members are responsible for meeting and engaging with stakeholders from their state. Even a short in-person meeting with a small group can be a highly effective tool in placing your issue on the map.

How Can I Be An Advocate : Raise The Volume

How
can I be an Advocate?

Raise the volume

Spread the word

Tell your patients and providers to activate their voices. Like you, they have unique, valuable vision care stories to relay, but they may be unaware that they too are advocates.

Build a movement

Find allies in your state and form a state-based coalition. There is strength in numbers, particularly in groups that are organized, with a streamlined message for vision care advocacy.

Put your actions behind the message

Start a petition, encourage others to send letters or call your representatives. The more engagement your representative has on your position for vision care, the more likely he or she is to take that into account when weighing a decision or vote.

Further information to prepare you to be an effective advocate are included in Advocacy Academy 201.

How Can I Be An Advocate : Real-Life Impact

How
can I be an Advocate?

Advocacy efforts can make the difference. Johnson & Johnson Vision has collaborated with partners, including thousands of eye care professionals across the country, in advocating for patients’ health and safety and the future of vision care.

Explore the real-life impact of advocacy in action:

Utah

How providers, manufacturers, and their allies defeated an “undefeatable” bill.

Capitol Hill

Using our toolkit and state successes to shape policy change and support of the Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act.

How Can I Be An Advocate : Advocacy in Action: Utah

How
can I be an Advocate?

How providers, manufacturers and their allies defeated an “undefeatable” bill in Utah

Background

Utah has a part-time legislature — their 2016 61st Legislative Session was less than 2 months, from January 25 — March 10, 2016.
Utah is home to the nation’s largest online contact lens reseller.
Thanks to its allies in the legislature and court system, this reseller has brought numerous successful legal and legislative challenges against our industry.

Highlights

Online Prescribing

February 5, 2016
House Bill 304 (H.B. 304), which would allow contact lenses to be prescribed online without a face-to-face exam, is introduced. The bill is backed by the largest online retailer.
Loud and Consistent Opposition

February 5, 2016
AOA, UOA, and J&J Vision begin meeting with legislators in opposition of H.B. 304, focusing on the dangers of online prescribing and importance of doctor-patient relationship.

Advocacy efforts included:
meeting with Utah State Legislators; calls to representatives to share opposition; personalized emails and letters sent to state lawmakers; official letters of opposition filed with legislature; alliance building with other provider groups, medical device organizations, individual eye care providers and patients.
The Switch to Expiration

February 26, 2016
The bill sponsor removes contact lenses from the list of devices approved from online prescribing and substitutes language that instead would extend prescription expiration limits.
Amplified and Unwavering Advocates

February 26 — March 10, 2016
The Coalition for Patient Vision Safety and the Utah Medical Association add their voice to the fight — amplifying the ongoing grassroots advocacy efforts.
Utah Bill Fails

March 10, 2016
The 2016 Utah Legislative Session closes and H.B. 304 does not advance.

The defeat of this dangerous legislation was a huge win for health and safety advocates and, had it not been for the loud and consistent voices of those across our industry, may have been law today.

How Can I Be An Advocate : Advocacy In Action: Capitol Hill

How
can I be an Advocate?

Using our toolkit and state successes to shape policy change and support of the Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act

Background

Our United States Congress is a full-time legislature — their schedule is divided into two types of work segments:

“In Session” where they are expected to be in Washington, D.C. to vote on legislation and meet constituents; and
“Recess” or “District Work Periods” where they are back in their home states and districts to conduct town halls, visit local businesses, and better understand how their work in D.C. affects their constituents at home.

Congressional Members and their staff experience significant turnover. For example, in 2013, nearly two in five lawmakers in the U.S. House had served for less than three years and the U.S. Senate had a 43% turnover rate between 2008 and 2013. That means there is often a lack of background and institutional knowledge — a significant challenge for advocates on the Hill.

Highlights

Creating One, Consistent Voice

Summer 2015
J&J Vision, AOA and other allies across the industry formed the Coalition for Patient Vision Care Safety. The Coalition worked together to develop positioning on the top issues for the industry and on behalf of patient health and safety.
Adding Distractions

Fall 2015
Supporters of deregulation amplify state-based efforts and mischaracterizations of the manufacturer-provider relationship on Capitol Hill to distract efforts on behalf of patient health and safety.
Building New Advocates

Winter 2015 – Spring 2016
J&J Vision, AOA and the rest of the Coalition began to meet with Congress to educate Members on key concerns and issues and build new allies amongst lawmakers.
Reacting to Growing Support

Spring 2016
As support for the Coalition and its top issues grows, supporters of deregulation form their own coalition in attempts to thwart bill introduction and reduce impact.
Bill Introduction and Support

April 12, 2016
Two new congressional allies — Senators Cassidy and Boozman — introduce the Coalition-supported Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act. Grassroots advocacy efforts expand.

As our grassroots advocacy efforts expand, the real work begins — your voice and experience is key to our success — including stopping deregulation efforts in their tracks.

How Can I Be An Advocate : Learn More

Explore the range of resources on Johnson & Johnson Vision’s advocacy and education site.

Advocacy Introduction: Why Your Voice Matters

KEEP AN EYE ON THE ISSUES

Advocacy Introduction: Why Your Voice Matters

What is Advocacy?

What is Advocacy?

What is Advocacy?

What is Advocacy?

Why Advocate?

Why Advocate?

Why Advocate?

How can I be an Advocate?

How can I be an Advocate?

Develop your message

Make it personal:

Keep it consistent:

Use data:

Stay simple and direct:

How can I be an Advocate?

Find your lawmaker

Federal lawmakers

State lawmakers

How can I be an Advocate?

Activate your voice

Send letters

Call your representative

Schedule a meeting

How can I be an Advocate?

Raise the volume

Spread the word

Build a movement

Put your actions behind the message

How can I be an Advocate?

Explore the real-life impact of advocacy in action:

Utah

Capitol Hill

How can I be an Advocate?

Background

Highlights

Online Prescribing

Loud and Consistent Opposition

The Switch to Expiration

Amplified and Unwavering Advocates

Utah Bill Fails

How can I be an Advocate?

Background

Highlights

Creating One, Consistent Voice

Adding Distractions

Building New Advocates

Reacting to Growing Support

Bill Introduction and Support

What
is Advocacy?

What
is Advocacy?

What
is Advocacy?

What
is Advocacy?

Why
Advocate?

Why
Advocate?

Why
Advocate?

How
can I be an Advocate?

How
can I be an Advocate?

How
can I be an Advocate?

How
can I be an Advocate?

How
can I be an Advocate?

How
can I be an Advocate?

How
can I be an Advocate?

How
can I be an Advocate?