Post #30774

Social media puts your message directly in front of your legislators and their staff. A single post tagging your Representative or Senator can spark attention, especially when echocardiographers and sonographers across the country speak up together. 

• Steps
  • Find your legislators’ handles on X (Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram. You can download a spreadsheet of their Twitter handles here or search on CSPAN or their official websites. 
  • Tag your legislator directly and include ASE’s campaign hashtag. Follow ASE on X (@ASE360), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky to find shareable content. 
  • Keep it personal: share how a policy like Medicare payment cuts or how advanced imaging classification would impact your practice and your patients. Your experience is welcomed! 
  • Amplify the message! Retweet and share posts from ASE and your colleagues.

Helpful links

• Sample tweet: The ASE Advocacy Committee is on Capitol Hill, advocating for physician payment, prior authorization reform, and workforce issues at the #ASMFLYIN.
• ASE Social Media Accounts
  • Facebook
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Bluesky

Email remains one of the most effective ways to communicate with Congress. Congressional offices tally constituent correspondence by topic, so every email about echo reimbursement, NIH funding, or workforce issues is counted and reported to the Member. 

• Steps
  • Check out ASE’s pre-drafted sample emails to your legislators.
  • Personalize your message! Even one or two sentences about how a policy affects your echo lab, your patients, or your team makes it far more impactful. Staff can distinguish form letters from personal notes. 
  • Identify yourself as a constituent and an echocardiographer or sonographer. Mention ASE if appropriate. This gives your message more weight than a generic letter. 
  • Be specific about your ask. Support a specific bill, oppose Medicare payment cuts, increase NIH research funding, or co-sponsor legislation. Specificity makes follow-up easier for congressional staff. 

Pro tip: Personalizing even a single paragraph of a template letter dramatically increases its impact. Congressional staff consistently report that personalized constituent emails carry significantly more weight than identical form messages. 

• Sample Email Templates:
  • Support the Efficiency Adjustment Delay Act 
  • Act Now on Medicare Physician Payment Reform 
  • Increase NIH Funding for FY2027 

Phone calls are especially powerful in the days or hours leading up to important votes on Medicare payment, appropriations, or health care reform. They create an immediate impression and are tracked carefully by congressional offices. 

• Steps
  • Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected to your Member’s office, or find direct numbers on their official website. 
  • Ask to speak with the staffer who handles health care policy. You’ll usually reach a legislative assistant or intern. That’s perfectly fine; they are responsible for recording and relaying constituent input to the Member. 
  • Be concise: state your name, that you’re a constituent, that you’re an echocardiographer or sonographers, and your position on the issue. Aim for about 30 seconds. 
  • Don’t be discouraged by voicemail! Leave a clear, brief message. Staff listen to and tally all constituent calls. 

Pro tip: Call both the Washington, D.C. office (where legislative staff work) and the district office (closer to home). This doubles your visibility and reinforces your message through two channels. 

• Call Scripts:
  • Support the Efficiency Adjustment Delay Act 
  • Act Now on Medicare Physician Payment Reform 
  • Increase NIH Funding for FY2027 
• Helpful Links:  
  • House Directory 
  • Senate Directory 

In-person meetings are the most impactful advocacy. Face-to-face conversations allow you to build lasting relationships with your legislators and their staff, and provides a personal impact that letters and calls can’t fully convey. ASE members regularly participate in Hill Day visits in Washington, DC or ASE staff can set up district visits. 

• Steps
  • Reach out to ASE staff to schedule a visit. 
  • Prepare your talking points using ASE’s leave-behind materials and legislative priority one-pagers. Focus on one or two ASE priorities and connect them to your personal experience and your district’s patient population. 
  • Follow up within 48 hours with a thank-you email. Reference specific topics discussed, offer yourself as a resource, and include ASE staff so the Society can track the interaction. . 

Pro tip: Let ASE staff know if you’re in DC and they can organize a visit for you. Otherwise, for district visits, August and holiday recesses are ideal times to meet. Legislators are in-district and focused on connecting with constituents. Consider inviting your Representative or Senator to visit your echo lab or hospital to see cardiovascular ultrasound in action. 

• • Helpful Links:
    • Email ASE staff to schedule a visit 
    • Update the Society on any relationships you have you’re your Members 
    • ASE Legislative Priorities