Unlocking Influence: A Messaging Guide for Persuading & Activating Decision Makers
From September 2025 to April 2026, Community Catalyst convened partners working on either medical debt or out-of-pocket affordability to shape a project aimed at providing the field with research-backed messaging insights to bring health system leaders and policymakers into healthcare reform efforts. The result: a new, ready-to-use resource Heartwired for Health & Economic Justice: Messaging Recommendations for Persuading & Activating Health System Leaders & Policymakers.
The findings are grounded in 26 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with private and public health system leaders, state officials, and policymakers across several states varying in geography and political identity. The research explored how participants’ emotions, identities, lived experiences, values, and beliefs — their “Heartwired” factors — shape how they think about the health care system. It also tested which messages, stories, language, and messengers are most effective at building support and motivating action.
Below you’ll find practical guidance that advocates, communicators, and organizers can use to strengthen messaging about health care affordability and medical debt.
About the Messaging Guide
About the Messaging GuideGetting Started
Getting StartedAdditional Resources
Additional Resources
About the Messaging Guide
The messaging guide is an annotated, practice-forward guide summarizes the research’s core messaging strategies, including building trust, acknowledging complexity, calming concerns, nurturing compassion, and activating hope. It also includes tested message examples and an at-a-glance summary of research-backed recommendations.
Getting StartedGetting Started
This comprehensive slide deck provides an in-depth look at the research, including project background and methodology, findings from interviews with health system leaders and policymakers, detailed messaging recommendations, and examples of the materials tested during the research — including a state policy brief, employer thought leadership piece, universal health care op-ed, and patient testimonial.
The project was facilitated by Wonder for Good, a strategic communications firm that partners with organizations to develop research-informed messaging that builds public understanding and support for social change. We are grateful to our partners in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington for their support.
Additional Resourcesadditional resources
We don’t always find full alignment with any given stakeholder, but we can persuade them and move them to action by speaking to common values.