SAMPLE LETTERS
The letter below is an example of a concise, convincing case for Rep. Topper’s legislation. Please do not copy and paste this letter. Information should provide on your own is [written in brackets, in bold]. The letter and instructions can be downloaded from the link on the page above. It is in Microsoft Word format.
Representative [Your Representative, found here]
[District Office Address, found here]
[Date]
Dear Representative [Your Representative],
My name is Jane Doe. As a certified registered Nurse Practitioner (NP) at one of our community’s most prominent family care offices, I work on the front line of health care.
I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor Rep. Jesse Topper’s bill to modernize the Professional Nursing Law, which would expand access to health care in our community by getting rid of outdated mandates on Nurse Practitioners. 19 other states have already modernized their laws; health care quality in those states has gone up while costs have gone down.
Example of a personal story: [The current law isn’t working for patients in our area. In the past year, two of my colleagues nearly lost their ability to practice when their collaborating physician decided to retire with little warning. Thankfully, the physician decided to delay his retirement. The 1,250 patients who visit their practice have no idea how close they came to being forced to find somewhere else to receive medical care.]
Example of a personal story: [I had similar problems when I first began to practice here 15 years ago. Despite being trained with 8 years of experience at time, it took me 3 months to find a “collaborating” physician to agree to vouch for my license.]
Countless stories like these are playing out constantly, contributing to extra weeks and months of extra waiting for patients who need primary care.
NPs are nurses who have received a Master’s or Doctorate. We can see patients, prescribe medication, operate our own businesses, refer patients to specialists and more. We are an untapped resource that could expand access to care -- if insurance companies could reimburse us directly and hospitals were allowed to fully utilize our skills.
Patients in our community need a modern nursing law, and I hope you will consider supporting it. If you have any further questions, please contact me at [Your phone number] or [Your email].
Sincerely,
[Your name and credentials]
[Your address, or your business address, whichever is in the district].