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HUPAC Training State and Local Chairs 2009. The Health Underwriters Political Action Committee (HUPAC) is NAHU’s nonpartisan political action committee
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The Health Underwriters Political Action Committee (HUPAC) is NAHU’s nonpartisan political action committee The purpose of the PAC is to solicit funds from NAHU members for disbursal to campaign committees who are accessible and willing to consider NAHU’s views Created by NAHU in 1995 What is HUPAC?
Recruiting new contributors to HUPAC Liaison between national and regional HUPAC trustees and your chapter Overview of Responsibilities
The FEC (Federal Elections Commission) dictates many of the functions of HUPAC and as HUPAC chair you need to be aware of a few key items: HUPAC contributions can only come from NAHU members, their families, and NAHU Staff This also means HUPAC can only solicit from NAHU members Individuals can only contribute $5,000 a year to a PAC Contributions to HUPAC’s Candidate Account can only come from individuals, not companies Checks made out to HUPAC MUST be cashed within 15 days of their date, which means checks should be mailed out to Stakeholder as soon as they are received The Basics
HUPAC has 2 different Accounts Candidate Account Individual’s contributions through personal credit cards or bank accounts Funds from this account are given to political candidates, both challengers and incumbents, democrats and republicans Administrative Fund Businesses can contribute up to $5,000 a year to this account State and local chapters can also contribute to this account Money in this account goes to the operating costs of HUPAC so that the candidate fund can be reserved solely for political contributions HUPAC’s Accounts
HUPAC has four contribution levels: Supporter: $10 per month or $150 annually 365 Club: $30 per month ($1 per day) or $365 annually Congressional Club: $42 per month or $500 annually Capitol Club: highest level of HUPAC contributions Gold- $1,000/year or $85/month Diamond- $2,000/year or $170/month Double Diamond- $3,000/year or $250/month Triple Diamond- $5,000/year or $410.00/month HUPAC Levels
HUPAC levels are determined by lump sums or monthly draft levels. For example, to reach Capitol Club status… Your Year-to-date contributions are equal to $1,000 (you’ve written one check to HUPAC for $1,000) OR You are signed up for a monthly withdrawal of $85 HUPAC Levels
HUPAC does one monthly draft from Credit Cards and Checking accounts This occurs on the 23rd of every month If a contribution form is received within that week or just after, no withdrawal will occur until the following cycle Monthly Drafts
Only select political candidates, incumbents and challengers, receive HUPAC contributions Often members in leadership positions or on committees of jurisdiction House: Ways and Means, Rules Committee, Energy and Commerce, Small Business, Education and Workforce, Budget, and Appropriations Senate: Finance, HELP, Aging, Appropriations, Budget, Small Business Challengers without a voting record fill out a questionnaire, the HUPAC Board of Trustees then votes to approve the candidate Members already serving in Congress not on a committee of jurisdiction can receive HUPAC contributions if the HUPAC Board of Trustees approves them Who Receives HUPAC Money?
HUPAC often does in-district events that allow NAHU members to attend events hosted by their Congressman When in-district events come up NAHU staff contacts state leadership to see if members are interested in attending Usually a small group of members from that state attend the event and provide feedback to NAHU staff If members plan on attending the meeting, HUPAC mails out a check to the campaign for the event What if I hear about an event and want to attend? If you become aware of event in-district for an approved member of Congress, contact NAHU with the details of the event and if feasible HUPAC make a contribution to the Congressman for the event. In-District Drops
Contribution reports for the overall year, broken down by region, state, and chapter Report is emailed out to regional chairs monthly 10th day of every month Provides name, email, phone, monthly contribution amounts, YTD contribution amounts, date of last contribution Allows you to identify who in your chapter is giving, if they’ve fallen behind in giving, etc. HUPAC Monthly Reports
HUPAC Contribution Form Always have plenty of copies to hand out at meetings HUPAC Tri-Fold PDF Information about HUPAC, it’s goals, and contribution levels Good to hand out to someone who doesn’t know much about HUPAC HUPAC “Be Heard” Signs Great way to draw attention to HUPAC at regional, state, and chapter meetings Other Resources
State of the HUnion For all HUPAC Contributors Sent out quarterly General information on HUPAC, regional contribution levels, HUPAC activities HUPolitics For Capitol Club members only Sent out monthly to Capitol Club contributors Detailed newsletter covering top political issues related to the health care industry, as well as election/campaign outlooks HUPAC Communications
Ask your local or state President for 5-10 minutes at each chapter meeting to talk about HUPAC Come armed with numbers that matter: How many Democrats and Republicans have we given to this year How much money your chapter is giving Where does your state rank among the rest of the country How much per member does your chapter give Regional and Local Meetings
What are the benefits of contributing? Government has a huge impact on our profession, our business, and our clients. If we don’t have a seat at the table, our industry is at risk! Contributions to HUPAC allow us to combine our resources and strength to ensure our voice is heard! Regional and Local Meetings: What to Say
If every member of NAHU gave just $5/month HUPAC would be A Million Dollar PAC! For members who claim “I can’t afford enough to make a difference,” encourage them to sign up for just $5/month- remember $5/month from everyone gets us to $1 million! Challenge members already donating to raise their contribution 1 level Reaching Our Goals
“I can’t afford a large enough contribution to make a difference.” Remember: if every member gave $5/month, we’d be a million dollar PAC, EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS “How much good is $5 really going to do?” Honestly, not that much, but $5-$10 from 20,000 members could do a lot of good for millions of Americans! Be Prepared…
“Why should I pay money to some politician in Washington?” Every year, legislative mandates and regulations threaten the health insurance industry. Without a strong presence in Washington to inform legislators about the impact of their decisions, our careers are jeopardized. HUPAC affords us the presence! “But I’m not affiliated with either party.” Neither is HUPAC! We are a nonpartisan group that supports any legislative candidate illustrating support for our industry. Committing to HUPAC is committing to your future, not a political party. Be Prepared…
Jessica Waltman- Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Laurel Call- Senior Vice President & Counsel John Greene- Vice President of Congressional Affairs Kristin Leighty- Government Affairs Coordinator HUPAC NAHU Staff
HUPAC NATIONAL BOT • Chair – Johnny Dawkins • Vice-Chair – Susan Rash • Region 1 Chair – Paul Smith (CT) • Region 2 Chair – Alan Schulman (MD) • Region 3 Chair – Denny Wright (IN) • Region 4 Chair – Eric Kohlsdorf (IA) • Region 5 Chair – David Johnson (GA) • Region 6 Chair – Michael Stephens (OK) • Region 7 Chair – Connie Puett (ID) • Region 8 Chair – Dan McMahon (WA) • Member At-Large – John Nelson (immediate past Chair) • NAHU Board Liaison – Tom Harte
HUPAC P.O. Box 20865 Indianapolis, IN 46220-0865 Fax: 317.253.9285 Phone: 703.276.3839 www.HUPAC.org hupac@nahu.org