Action Alert: Help Conquer CHD Through Research and Telehealth

Help people with CHD live long and healthy lives through important research and data collection and by continuing strategies that make it easier for people to access their doctors and care team through telehealth.

Congress has been given permission to fund $10M each year for CHD research and data collection at the CDC, but it is currently funded at only $7.25M. The FY2022 budget passed last week included only a slight increase from $7M. But there is still more money that they can approve.  As they work on the 2023 budget, we are asking Congress to fund the full $10M they are allowed to spend.

The pandemic brought about many challenges.  Including how people access their health care team.  For a while, it wasn’t even possible to go to a clinic or hospital.  As part of emergency protocols, Congress supported the use of telehealth which accelerated the use of this tool for a multitude of purposes. But these were quickly implemented as temporary measures.  We need Congress to continue to support telehealth as it helps reduce barriers for those are unable to access care even when there isn’t a pandemic.

For more information visit the webpage for our Members of Congress. It includes links to additional background information.

Thank you for your willingness to take action.  Here’s how:

1. If you don’t already have the contact information from previous experience, you will need to get the website and phone number for their Washington D.C. office.
   1. Locate your U.S. senators’ contact information.
   2. Find your U.S. representative’s website and contact information.
2. Check their website
   1. If the website has a contact form you can cut and paste the sample email language into that form.
   2. If the website has an appropriations request form, you can complete this form using the example provided below.
   3. Find the twitter handle to send the tweet using the sample tweet below.
3. Call their office if you cannot find the appropriations form
   1. You can leave a message with the kind folks at the front desk.
   2. You can ask to speak with the person who handles health issues using the sample script below
   3. You can ask for the direct email of the person who handles health issues and send an email using the sample script below.
4. Celebrate with us! 
   1. Email advocacy@conqueringchd.org and let us know you reached out to your legislators, and certainly keep us posted if they respond!!

Additional Resources:

• Sample Scripts
• Sample Appropriations Form