Alert: Will you accept our Challenge?

Dear Partners,

Happy Anniversary to the Affordable Care Act! The second anniversary celebration is finally here, and events are kicking off across the country. Thanks to your hard work, stories and statistics about how the law has benefited real people are being broadcast far and wide.

ACA Anniversary Challenge: Who will win the prize?
As anniversary week gets into full swing and Supreme Court oral arguments are set to begin the week after, we want to keep the momentum and focus on what the ACA means locally - not just inside the Beltway. The ACA Anniversary Challenge is off and running (see below). The goal of the contest is to use letters to the editor to illustrate how the Affordable Care Act has helped people in your state. Just like an event, a letter to the editor can raise the consumer voice and show strong support for the law.

Suggestions for Spokespeople
Examples of perspectives that can create a compelling letter to the editor include:

• A small business owner who claimed the tax credit to help him/her pay for his/her employees' health care.
• A faith leader's perspective on how the Affordable Care Act has impacted his/her congregation.
• A young professional who was able to stay on his/her parents' insurance plan.
• A parent of a child with a chronic health condition who no longer needs to worry about lifetime caps on benefits or denial of coverage due to a pre-existing condition.

The Challenge has been underway for a few weeks now, but we'll be accepting entries until Friday, April 13, and these next two weeks are prime opportunities for placing letters to the editor in response to news stories about the health care law. Remember, there is a prize!

State Highlight: Colorado!
The team at Colorado Consumer Health Initiative worked with consumer advocates to place four letters to the editor about how the Affordable Care Act affected their lives and health care. These letters to the editor exemplify what we are looking for in the ACA Anniversary Challenge.

We look forward to seeing your letters to the editor as we all work to defend the health care law over the coming weeks. Be sure to send your entries to Lucy Cox-Chapman (lcoxchapman@communitycatalyst.org) as they get placed.

Thank you for your continued advocacy.

The Community Catalyst Implementation Team