1. Congressman
Austin Scott
Representing Georgia’s 8th District
American Health Care Reform Act
Communications Plan
Target Launch Date: July 6, 2015
Communications Objective
This communications plan is tailored to Rep. Austin Scott’s most recent piece of legislative work, the
American Health Care Reform Act. The aim of the plan is predominantly education, but the end result
should be constituents from districts all over the United States contacting their respective representatives
in order to gain support for the bill and ultimately have the legislation passed.
Background
Rep. Scott’s own bill, the American Health Care Reform Act, AHCRA, has not yet been voted on and is in the
early stages of legislation after recent introduction. The bill was co-authored by Rep. Scott and Rep. Phil
Roe under the direction of the Republican Study Committee and director Rep. Bill Flores. The bill is a
conservative piece of legislation introduced for the purpose of fully repealing the Affordable Care Act which
has been branded under the moniker of “Obamacare.” Under the law as it stands, many citizens have seen
a growth in their health care costs and a lack of choice in their health care providers.
The bill introduces competition back in to the health insurance industry in order to lower overall costs and
removes the federal mandate for every American to have health insurance. The AHCRA also would lift the
financial charge placed on citizens who do not have or cannot afford health insurance under the current
health care law. Insurance would be incentivized through tax deductions, and individuals with pre-existing
health conditions would be supported by the federal government and ensure that they have access to
coverage. An additional facet to the bill would include a $15 billion plan over eight years’ time for research
of the five diseases that claim the most American lives: heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease
and diabetes.
Currently, the pending Supreme Court decision of King v. Burwell, which questions the language of the
Affordable Care Act and subsidies that are currently being given to a small portion of the American public, is
being mixed with much of the communication surrounding the ACHRA at the moment.
The reason for the communications plan is to raise awareness and kick start public and congressional
support for the AHCRA. The launch of informational materials will come at a pivotal moment as the
Supreme Court hands down the decision of King v. Burwell and health care is in the center of the spotlight
for national issues.
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2. Goals
Short Term
Short term goals for the communications plan predominantly involve social media. For Rep. Scott’s office in
particular, growing his Twitter followers and engagement by 30 percent should be accomplished by this
campaign’s implementation. Growing the amount of Facebook likes by 10 percent will also be a short term
goal. The length of time in which the growth should take place is one month from the start of the launch.
Long Term
The overarching goal for the entirety of the communications plan is to garner support for the bill in the halls
of Congress as well as congressional districts across the country. Ultimately, the goal for the bill is passage,
but this communications plan seeks to stir up support across the country for the bill to lead constituents to
contact their congressmen in support of the bill.
The success in the long term will be measured ultimately by the passage of the bill. However, success can
also be quantitatively measured by the number of Yea votes on the floor of the House and Senate, the
aggregate number of support calls in each congressional office logged in the collective software database.
Key Message
• The AHCRA is an answer for the American people that will lower their health care costs and give
them freedom of choice to make their own decisions about their health.
Targeted Stakeholders for Communications / Outreach
External Stakeholders Impact/Messaging and Outreach Needs
1 Constituents and general public • Educate public about specifics of bill and move them
to contacting their Congressional representation in
support of the bill
2 Media • Bring awareness to media of bill’s specifics and
garner more interaction and opportunities for
quotes from Rep. Scott in the press
3 Congress • Bring awareness to all of House and Senate of the
upcoming legislation and find allies to verbally
support bill
4 Health Care Interest Groups • Inform groups through press and interviews about
specifics of the bill and garner verbal and online
support of bill
5 Campaign Contributors • Gain interest and positive reactions from previous
and potential campaign contributors for the
upcoming 2016 election
Internal Stakeholders Impact/Messaging and Outreach Needs
1 Rep. Austin Scott • Keep the congressman aware of press and social
media movement around legislation and bring
awareness to Rep. Scott through his personal
communications outlets (namely his speech)
2 DC Office Staff • Bring the office together as a united front and
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3. prepare them with the key message to implement in
their speech and writings
3 District Office Staffs • Bring the offices to a complete understanding of the
bill and equip them with the key message to repeat
to constituents directly in the district and give them
the ability to answer any questions that may arise
Timeline of Communications Activities
Communications Tactical Rollout
Date Lead Office Product Deliverable
PRE-LAUNCH
Early June Communications
Communications
Plan
Communications Director and Press Intern meet to
strategize the communications plan. A timeline and key
messaging is decided upon for the duration of the
AHCRA launch period.
Early June Chief of Staff
Communications
Plan
Chief of Staff, Joby Young, checks over plan and message
language for style edits.
Mid-June Communications
Communications
Plan
Receive Joby’s comments and incorporate edits and
update and finalize communications plan
Mid-June Congressman
Communications
Plan
Submit edited communications plan to the congressman
for signed approval.
Mid-June Scheduling
Press
Communications
Lead Scheduler, Haley Dorvis, responds and reaches out
to media outlets to schedule interviews and
appearances for the congressman to discuss ACHRA
launch.
6/29/15 DC Office
Communications
Plan
Meet with DC office staff to give overview of objectives
for communications plan and strategies. Collect
questions and feedback from meeting to incorporate in
to distributed materials
6/29/15-
7/2/15
Communication
s
Communications
Products
Create communications materials for launch:
• INTERNAL: infographic, FAQ sheet, personalized
talking points from phone calls to the
congressman’s press interviews, create short bio
briefs for news conference press, set schedule
for social media postings
• EXTERNAL: Email listserv newsletter specific to
AHCRA, draft written content for tweets,
Facebook posts, 499’s, franked messaging,
create infographics and social media
friendly/shareable graphics to include with
content, craft message for allied congressional
offices from the congressman
• Develop a concerned constituent message, fact
sheet PDF and shareable infographic
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4. 7/3/15
Chief of Staff
and
Congressman
Communications
Products
Receive final signature approval from both Joby and
Rep. Scott on all communications materials for next
work day launch:
• INTERNAL: Meet with C.o.S. and Rep. Scott at
start of business day to receive final approval
prior to office meeting.
7/3/15
Communications
Director and
Press Intern
Communications
Products
Finalize all communications materials for next work day
launch:
• INTERNAL: Briefing meeting with DC staff to
check in and answer last-minute questions, brief
Congressman for upcoming interviews with
press, place infographics and FAQ sheets at all
phone stations
• EXTERNAL: Type out and finalize message for
external listserv update and have release
scheduled for 7 A.M. Monday. Send 499’s for
release on Monday. Set franked
communications for Monday morning.
DAY OF LAUNCH
7/6/15
Internal
Communications
• Meet with staff at beginning of day to check in
for last minute questions
• Send email to all office staffs with infographic
and talking points for phone calls
• Collect information from calls to the office
• Offer additional clarification and support-as
needed
7/6/15 Congressional
• Send congressional message to allied offices and
the Georgia delegation
7/6/15
External
Communications
• Issue Email Newsletter at 7:00 AM
• Issue launch day tweets and Facebook post
POST LAUNCH
A separate tactical plan will be developed for all post-launch activities including specialty social media posts
TBD
Internal
Communications
• Host staff meeting to collect information and
answer questions regarding data from launch
• Create additional talking points adjusted to new
information and needs of office
• Host Skype sessions with each district office to
collect information and answer questions
TBD
External
Communications
• Publish additional AHCRA-specific newsletters if
necessary each week or month
TBD
External
Communications
• Post weekly updates to Facebook and Twitter
regarding the movement of ACHRA in Congress
• Monitor ongoing feedback from the public
through calls to each office and social media responses
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5. TBD Congressional
• Monitor legislation as it moves through
committees and processes
Communications Channels and Tools
Communications Channels & Tools
Media E-Communications/Mail Multimedia
Internal Internal Internal
X Talking Points
Employee Magazine
Articles
On Demand Videos
X Public Affairs Guidance X Leadership Guidance Internal Videos
External Broadcast Message Digital Signage
X News Release Connect Web Banner Graphic Design
Opinion Editorial Connect Content Photography
Letter of the Editor CEO’s Message Project Consultation
Media Advisory DHS Connect X Town hall Meeting
X News Conference External External
On the Record Statement X Tweets (English) Live Streaming Event
Roundtable Tweets (Spanish) Official Transcript
Media Exclusive X Facebook Posts Photography
Must Air Points X 499’s sent to district Videos
X Fact Sheet X Newsletter X Graphic Design (infographic)
X Q&As X Franked mail Stakeholder/Supportive Constituents
X Media Backgrounder Web Alert Stakeholder Meeting
Editorial Board Meeting Homepage banner Stakeholder Call
Pen & Pad YouTube Video Post X Stakeholder Message
CEO’s Op-Ed X Web Content Speaking Engagement
Congressional Web/Español
Congressional Calls X
Email list serve
message
X Congressional Meeting
X Congressional Messages
Office Role/Responsibilities
 Communications Director and Press Intern – Create clear and comprehensive messaging that
encompasses the legislation fairly. Create content and media for social media posts, make
infographics, FAQ sheets and press releases to distribute to the media and work to train office staff
with messaging and media etiquette
 Legislative Staff – Stay up-to-date on current and upcoming legislation and keep the congressman
informed in order to brief him for potential questions on his own legislation from both peers and
constituents
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6.  Scheduler – Respond quickly and with good judgment to interest groups, national media and
constituents who request the congressman’s time
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7.  Scheduler – Respond quickly and with good judgment to interest groups, national media and
constituents who request the congressman’s time
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