Host a House Party

Throwing a house party can be a great way to educate people in your community about one of the most important issues facing our country today - our new health care law. Get people together, educate them, and build grassroots momentum to support and protect our new law!

Organize It!

  • Invite friends, family members and your neighbors to your party. Ask people to spread the word and bring their friends. Use the house party to tap into your networks and your friends' networks too.
  • House parties are called "parties" for a reason! Make it fun and social by offering light refreshments, playing music and leaving time for people to mingle.
  • Prepare materials.
    • Create a sign-in sheet for your guests so you can keep track of people who attended and follow up with them after the party.
    • Print out easy-to-read fact sheets that people can take home with them.
    • Offer an action. Supply a letter that people can sign, a call-in number and/or a donation basket. Click here for a sample action.

Start the Discussion about Our New Health Care Law

  1. Give your guests some time to mingle. Then, start your discussion by having your guests introduce themselves so they feel more comfortable with each other.
  2. After introductions, start the conversation by outlining some of the great benefits provided by our new health care law. Click here for 12 reasons to support the law.
  3. Go around the room and ask people to give a reason why our new health care law is needed and important (some people have may have compelling stories to tell).
  4. You can support people's statements with statistics and make sure the conversation stays on track by hitting these key points:
    1. Rising health care costs were making coverage unaffordable for more and more working families. Between 1999 and 2008, average employer-sponsored family health premiums grew from $5,791 to $12,680 - an increase of 119 percent!
    2. Before our new law was passed, in all but five states, most insurance companies could deny coverage to applicants because of health problems, health risks or age.
    3. Even when people have coverage, serious health care crises can and do send millions of people into debt every year.
    4. Over half of the uninsured - 26 million Americans - are small business owners, employees, or their dependents.
  5. After stating these troubling statistics, talk about how our new health care law addresses these problems. Remind your guests the law is under threat from opponents who are spreading lies and misinformation to try to repeal it for political gain.
  6. Call your guests to action. Emphasize that the only way we are going to protect our health care law is to ensure that as many people know the truth about the law as possible. make sure your guests know:
    1. Everyone in the room has a very important role to play in protecting our new law.
    2. Special interest lobbyists are throwing their money all over Capitol Hill. We have to raise our voices together to combat them and make sure the law is protected.
  7. Ask attendees to take action now. You can do the following to get everyone involved:
    1. have your guests agree to spread the word about the positive benefits of reform to five friends.
    2. Have your guests sign our "set the record straight" pledge.
    3. Ask your guests to become fans of Families USA's Stand Up for Health Care on Facebook and to follow us on Twitter.

Follow Up with Guests

  • You put a lot of work into your party, so it's important to make sure your attendees stay connected.
  • You should now have the names and contact information for all the people who attended your house party. Follow up with them by forwarding them emails asking them to take action, inviting them to events, and urging them to spread the message in their neighborhoods and communities.

 

Don't forget to click here and let us know how it went! And if anyone was interested in getting involved with Families USA's Stand Up for Health Care, make sure they sign up for our email alerts by visiting our website www.standupforhealthcare.org.