Strategic engagement of policymakers to advance a children's health care coverage policy agenda

Policymakers can be critically important allies of children's advocates. As part of an evaluation of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation's Insuring America's Children: States Leading the Way grantmaking strategy, researchers conducted site visits to seven states—Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington—and found that the establishment of strong relationships between advocacy organizations and policymakers is central to not only moving children's health care coverage agendas forward, but also to preserving previous coverage gains. Understanding states' unique political environments is an important first step for advocates in developing effective strategies to engage policymakers and gain their support. Additional critical strategies include: identifying, nurturing and supporting political champions; creating strategic linkages between grassroots and policy advocacy; using effective and positive messaging that appeals to policymakers; establishing advocacy organizations as the “go to” resource for reliable data and information; and, sharing ownership of agendas and successes with policymakers. This paper describes how advocates in the seven states have used these strategies and provides useful lessons for other advocates pursuing expansions in health insurance coverage.