Talk to your legislator early. If you share your information before any opposition shares their information, you are more likely to receive a positive response, or at least ensure that your legislator keeps an open mind. Furthermore, the closer legislators get to the session’s start in January, the less time they have, the harder it is to get appointments, and the more things they have on their minds. Early fall is the best time to contact your legislators.

The most effective way to contact your legislators before the session begins is in a face-to-face meeting. Your presence puts a real face on the problem and its solution. A legislator cannot see you through an email, but he/she can certainly see who you are and remember your visit.

Present both sides of the issue, but explain why your side is better public policy. You may say that insurers will most certainly emphasize that weight-loss surgery costs money. You may say that they rarely use that argument when people are seeking surgery for cancer of the lung (which they probably got from smoking cigarettes). Insurers generally don’t argue over replacing joints brought on by obesity, which can be improved by weight-loss surgery. You may say that your work productivity helps your company save money and be more profitable, something they should understand when insurers talk about the cost of weight-loss surgery.

Your legislator probably will have questions. If you don’t know the answer to a question, feel free to say that you don’t know the answer. This is much better than guessing and getting it wrong. Promise to find out the answer and let the legislator know. Then, follow up and do it. You may write your questions to ObesityVote.com, and someone will answer your question as soon as possible. In fact, if you’d like for one of the other experts to contact the legislator personally, let ObesityVote.com know that information, and a follow-up visit will be made with the legislator.

Be prepared with some anecdotes. Statistics and studies are useful, and you will want to share some of them, too. Your best success will be your story. Bring along pictures and other useful aides to help drive your point home.

Stick to the issue. There are a lot of issues that you confront outside of weight-loss surgery and morbid obesity, but if you raise them, you run the risk of getting the legislator off point.

Do not debate your legislator on other issues like taxes, transportation, abortion, or education. While these topics may come up during the meeting, they are not the purpose of your visit.

Always be completely honest. Your future credibility with a legislator depends on honest and accurate information. You can be sure that if you intentionally or unintentionally mislead a legislator, the legislator will find out. This creates a very great risk that the legislator will not believe anything else that you may assert in the future.

If your legislator doesn’t agree with your position, pleasantly agree to disagree. You might ask if there is any information you could provide that would change his or her mind. Do not get angry, frustrated, or threaten the legislator in any way (i.e.: “I won’t vote for you.”).

Do not make any contribution to the legislator or candidate’s campaign during your visit. Do not promise anything in return for the legislator’s agreement with your position. These not only look like bribes—but effectively are—and could get you and the legislator in trouble.

Listen carefully to the legislator’s statement of his position on this issue. Some legislators are masters at sounding like they agree with you when, in fact, that is not what they have said. Do not construe general statements (i.e.: “I’ve always liked doctors”) to be support for weight-loss surgery. The only way to know the legislator’s position is to ask directly, (i.e.: “Will you vote for this surgery as a mandated benefit?”) and then, listen carefully to the answer. Many legislators will defer until they “see the language of the bill” or “hear from the other side.” Let them know you will keep in touch and inform them of any changes or updates.