Sample advocacy letter for Senators and Members of Congress

Part 1: Starting out your letter

Start out your message with a brief sentence to introduce yourself. If you are a medical provider or someone with relevant professional knowledge, be sure to mention it. Follow your introduction with a summary of your ask.

Dear Representative/Senator _____________,

My name is _______________, I am your constituent residing in ____________. I am writing to you today to express my deepest support for H.R. 3069, the Medicare for All Act [or, if to a Senator, S. 1506].

Part 2: Recognize their recent work on healthcare.

Now, include a few sentences to demonstrate that there are things that this elected official is doing that indicate some progress that you agree with, whether it’s in the healthcare space (like supporting a cap on insulin prices, like in this example) or another issue area you care about. Show that you know something about them – maybe you went to the same high school, maybe they’re a fresh new face, or maybe they gave a stirring speech recently – what’s something about them that you are glad to see represented in Congress?

If the politician is signed on to the House or Senate bill has said or done anything in support of Medicare for All recently, even if they just mentioned it in a speech, make a note of that.

I am grateful to see a new face in Congress represent me because now more than ever, we need change! I also admire your commitment to protect the Affordable Care Act and it’s great that you supported the $35 cap on insulin costs.

OR

I saw you speak at the ____ rally in ____ on _____. It really meant a lot to me that you took time out of your Saturday to come to my hometown, because the GOP’s attacks on Medicaid, SNAP, and their refusal to renew the ACA subsidies will hit our town very hard. Thank you for standing firm and standing up to these bullies.

Part 3: Moving to your ask

Great! So you have given some positive feedback. Now it’s time to tell them that you are relying on them to do more. If you have a personal story to share, summarize it to here to underline how important this issue is to you.

Make sure you’ve checked to see if your Representative/Senator has signed on to the House or Senate bill. If they aren’t, your main ask is to sign onto the bill. If they are, you’ll want to instead recognize their leadership, thank them for their support, and urge them to keep up the fight.

However, as we have seen many rollbacks to the progress made on access to health care, it is time to move beyond the defensive fight. I believe health care should be a right. People in our state, and all Americans in general, are waking up and learning more about the greed found in our privatized healthcare system.

Part 4: Closing

To close, remind them once again why you’re writing.

I urge you to please sign on as a co-sponsor for the Medicare for All bill in order to accurately represent the will of your constituents on this critical issue.

Remember to include your street address.

If you’re contacting a House Member, they will only take letters seriously that they know are coming from their constituents.

Best Regards,
NAME
Full Address