Legislative Advocacy Tools
The Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has a long history of advocating for policy and laws that positively impact child health and safety in Alabama. From being instrumental in starting the nation's first Child Health Insurance Program in 1997 and helping pass Alabama's Child Passenger Safety Law to fighting for adequate Medicaid funding on an almost annual basis, Alabama's pediatricians speak out each year to make a difference for all Alabama children.
Be an Advocate for Children's Health Issues
Our state and federal policymakers want and need to hear from you about issues important in promoting and protecting children's health and pediatrics. As a pediatrician, registered voter and member of the Alabama Chapter-AAP, your input to legislators is key in helping them understand pediatric and child health issues. They understand this and also know that their political future lies in your hands! There are a number of ways that you can advocate to your legislators; see below for resources & tips.
2024 Legislative Session
Current Topic-Specific Resources
Medicaid/ALL Kids
2024 - Medicaid Expansion: The Economic Impact of Medicaid Expansion
2024 - Medicaid Expansion: Coverage in Alabama by County Fact Sheet
Firearm Safety Facts & Legislative Leave-Behind
Immunizations
Mental Health
Child Passenger Safety
How-To Tools
Sample letter to legislator
Meeting face to face with your legislators - information sheet
Topic-Specific Resources (historical)
Medicaid/ALL Kids
2017 Alabama Chapter-AAP Position & Talking Points - Medicaid RCOs and Funding
Talking points, Federal Threats to Medicaid/CHIP, December 2016
2016 Talking Points: Who is Enrolled/Impacted by Budget Cuts
2015 Alabama Medicaid Fact Sheet from the AAP, March 2015
Southern Institute Report on Uninsured Children in the South
Medicaid Expansion: Good for Parents and Children, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, January 2014
Immunizations
Pre-K and other birth to 5 services
Safe Births
Position statement, 2017
·Tobacco
Other Links
How can you help?
The Chapter will send legislative alerts when important issues are at stake and we need members to call our lawmakers. But the best time to hone relationships with your legislators is when the need isn't urgent. Here are ways to help:
- Become a Chapter key contact: Connect one on one with lawmakers in the various districts of the state and become part of a "call tree" for action and someone who can educate your lawmaker on what you know best: pediatrics. Click here to sign up.
- We are also asking for Chapter members to get to know their legislators NOW and schedule visits with them at their practices/hospitals. To find out how, check out the 13 steps in the Chapter's Blueprint for Hosting Legislators.
To find your state legislator's contact information, click here and search by zip code.