FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 16, 2007
Contacts:
Clarissa Woo - ACLU (213) 977-5241, (213) 503-3505
Mary Gutierrez - LA County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO (213) 276-3384
Labor, Consumer, and Healthcare Groups to Unveil Statewide Healthcare Hotline: Local elected leaders and community members to speak-out on the need for quality and affordable healthcare for all Californians
When:
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
11:00 am
Where:
Huntington Park City Hall (Outside)
6550 Miles Avenue
Huntington Park, CA 90255
Who:
Healthcare advocates
Community members with healthcare stories
Local elected officials
It’s Our Healthcare Coalition
Having Our Say Coalition
What:
As the California Legislature begins to deliberate on a series of major healthcare reform bills, two coalitions dedicated to ensuring that all Californians are heard and that reforms benefit consumers, will launch a drive to gather thousands of healthcare stories through a statewide hotline. The action in Los Angeles will be tied to actions in the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Fresno. Around fifty people will gather to share their healthcare stories and concerns.
It’s OUR Healthcare! includes AARP, ACLU of Southern California, ACORN, the California Labor Federation, California Partnership, Consumers Union, the National Council of La Raza, Planned Parenthood, the Service Employees International Union, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO and dozens of other groups, together representing more than 9 million Californians.
Having Our Say includes the California Immigrant Policy Center, Latino Issues Forum, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Asian Pacific American Legal Center and others, working to ensure communities of color have a voice in the health care reform debate.
Why:
Approximately 6.5 million Californians were uninsured at some point during last year. Unfortunately, 75% of them were uninsured working families, who had no health coverage from their employer. Without health coverage, they are less likely to seek primary care services for preventable diseases and run the risk of being burdened by high cost medical bills. At the State capitol, key legislators and the Governor are currently championing healthcare reform. We, the people of California, especially those living in immigrant and communities of color, need to make sure our voices are heard NOW, to make sure affordable and easily accessible healthcare coverage is available for all Californians.
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