We will be updating this page as the 2020 legislative session gets underway in January.
Here are some resources to help you communicate the concerns of Illinois eye surgeons about proposed legislation that would allow optometrists to perform surgical procedures and give injections into the delicate tissues around the eye.
Advocacy from physiciansand also from patientsare effective! Legislators do pay attention to what their constituents have to say on issues such as this, and that's you!
Patient Letters
HIGH PRIORITY ACTION!
Letters from your patients are especially effective on "insider" issues such as a health profession licensure bill or rule. Lawmakers expect to hear from the protagonists and antagonists, but when they start to get letters from the general public -- even as a result of an organized campaign -- they take note! Plus, you don't need to send in hundreds of letters... just five a day would be effective.
Getting your patients to send letters is not difficult, and our experience is that the vast majority are very willing to participate, especially when we make it easy for them. Here are a few easy steps to make this happen.
Get the Letters -- Listed below is a link to a file with three letters -- variations on the same theme -- we have written for your use. This document is in PDF format; all you have to do is print them out (on plain paper, NOT your office letterhead). DOWNLOAD the patient letters
Circulate the Letters to Your Patients -- Place the letters on a clipboard and keep at your office front desk. Have your staff ask the patient to enter today's date at the top and their own name and home address at the bottom. The patient then gives the letter back to your staff.
Send the Completed Letters to Legislators -- The staff person should then look up the patient's state representative and/or state senator based on their address (not your office address). DO NOT send to members of Congress or any statewide elected official... just state senators and state representatives.
CLICK HERE for the "Find Officials" on the ISEPS Legislative Action Center page. Just enter the zip code, and then the street address, and the system will respond with a list of all the elected officials for that location. Zero in on the STATE Representative and the STATE Senator!
Just enter the patient's address, and the names of their elected officials will be displayed. Letters can be sent to both the senator and representative for the patient.
Print the name of the legislator at the top of the letter and then mail to their DISTRICT office. We strongly recommend that your office staff do this and not rely on the patient. The address will be shown in the listing from the "legislator lookup" step above. Do not fax the letters.It's ok to include several letters in the same envelope when going to the same legislator. Address the envelopes with the following format: The Honorable <first name><last name> Illinois State Senate -- or -- Illinois House of Representatives <mailing address> <city/state/zip>
We STRONGLY recommend that you keep a copy of the letters that you send on behalf of your patients
Please report back to the ISEPS office periodically how many letters you have sent, and to which legislators. Use whatever format is easiest for you and your staff. But, we want to know the doctor's name, the legislator's name and how many letters they received:
Keep a spreadsheet and email a copy to [email protected] once a week
Make a list by hand and fax it once a day to the ISEPS office: 847-680-1682
Make a copy of the patient letters before you send them. Put the doctor's name at the top and the legislator to whom it was sent and just fax the letters to ISEPS: 847-6890-1682
