| The latest news from and for state health care advocates |
April 2012
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In each edition, we'll feature an action, victory, campaign, or interesting tactic shared by a state advocate. Send us your updates. |
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In This Issue:
Buzz around the States
As part of their Affordable Care Act anniversary activities, Georgians for a Healthy Future created a video that features state legislators showing their support for the health care law.
AARP Minnesota polled voters about issues related to the development of a state-based exchange. Click here for the survey results.
Advocates at the North Carolina Justice Center have worked with reporters at the Charlotte Observer and the News & Observer (Raleigh) to launch a five-part series examining how North Carolina hospitals profit at the expense of patients. Click here to view the articles in this series.
New studies from the University of Memphis show how the health care law benefits Tennesseans and the state’s economy.
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States in Focus: White House Champions of Change Honorees
Throughout the year, the White House honors Champions of Change—ordinary Americans who are doing extraordinary things to transform their communities.
On March 22, the White House honored several Champions of Change who are dedicated to improving access to health care. These honorees are leaders and educators who spend countless hours in their community helping others understand the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.
Honorees are local and national health care leaders, including JoAnne Fischer of the Maternity Care Coalition in Pennsylvania, Jan Gilbert of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, and Rev. Linda Hanna Walling of Faithful Reform in Healthcare. Click here for a full list of the health care advocacy honorees.
On March 29, the White House honored 10 more Champions of Change community leaders who exemplify Cesar Chavez’s core values and have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of others throughout their communities. Click here for a full list of Cesar Chavez Legacy honorees.
In this month’s State Health Beat, we are highlighting three honorees: Adam Searing and Josephine Underwood (Champions of Change: Affordable Care Act) and Elvira Diaz (Champion of Change: Cesar Chavez Legacy). These individuals, like many of you, inspire us to be better advocates for health care justice and carry forth our mission to promote high-quality, affordable health care for all.
Adam Searing, North Carolina Justice Center
Adam Searing serves as director of the Health Access Coalition for the North Carolina Justice Center. Under Adam’s leadership, the Health Access Coalition has become North Carolina’s leading voice for progressive health care reforms that address the needs of the uninsured and underinsured. Since joining the coalition in 1997, Adam has helped to maintain nonprofit, community-based health plans and hospitals, successfully implement state Medicaid program expansions, pass a model state’s Children's Health Insurance Program, and secure passage of the national health reform law.
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Adam has focused his work on state-based implementation and public education efforts. Through public education forums in churches and community centers across the state, Adam helped move public opinion and identified numerous individuals who have benefited from the health care law. Adam relays their personal stories to media outlets to spread the word about how the law is already helping people. In addition, Adam recently wrote a “how-to” video training manual and traveled across the country to educate fellow health care advocates on how to use video and editing equipment to create short videos highlighting personal stories or explaining complex health policy issues.
Adam has also traveled throughout North Carolina in his role as a policy expert, coalition builder, and community leader. Because of these efforts, he has gained the reputation as one of North Carolina’s fiercest champions of high-quality, affordable health care.
Due to Adam’s hard work, he has received a multitude of awards and recognition from the North Carolina Public Health Association, the North Carolina Primary Health Care Association, regional and state newspapers, as well as Families USA.
Josephine Underwood, Consultant, Illinois
Josephine Underwood is committed to educating, engaging, and empowering others in the fight for social justice. Through her work in Illinois, she inspires others to take action and gives them the tools to make an impact on a range of issues. Josephine has 10 years of experience in advocacy, issue campaigns, community organizing, and civic engagement. She partners with community activists and organizations to host forums and events, conduct leadership trainings, develop effective outreach materials, and organize lobby days to advocate for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Josephine has dedicated her work to educating others about the benefits of the law. She uses values-based messaging and community-based messaging to underscore how everyone benefits from the Affordable Care Act. Because health care justice is interconnected with many other issues, Josephine also works to engage multiple sectors around this issue, including social service providers and education advocates.
Josephine works with all communities, but has a special passion for working with faith organizations and communities of color. When working with these communities, Josephine talks about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. She has collaborated with Progressive Action for the Common Good in the Quad Cities, the five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa-Illinois boundary, to reach out to faith groups through educational forums, press conferences, and letters to the editor. Josephine is currently planning the Building Healthy Communities campaign with the goals of uniting several faith communities and keeping politics out of the dialogue.
Josephine is a passionate and driven advocate who has a deep understanding of how the lack of access to high-quality, affordable health care affects every sphere of a person’s life. Josephine works as an independent contractor. She is available to work with organizations to train leaders, develop a base of active supporters, and build creative and collaborative issue campaigns.
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Elvira Diaz, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
In her role as the lead community organizer at the Progressive Leadership Alliance in Nevada (PLAN), Elvira Diaz engages and educates the Latino community about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.
Elvira’s success as a community organizer with the Latino community in Nevada stems from her understanding of the community and her experience working on innovative campaigns. Elvira created 100 Moms for Health Care, a house party campaign to educate Latina women—many of whom are single mothers and stand to gain a great deal from the Affordable Care Act. At house party gatherings throughout the state, women are able to share their stories, connect with one another, and hear about how the health law will benefit them and their families.
To reach the broader Latino community, Elvira works closely with the Spanish-language media in Nevada. She has strengthened relationships by holding one-on-one meetings with media outlets, building a network of Spanish-speaking spokespeople, and establishing herself as a knowledgeable expert on the complexities of the health care law. Elvira also hosts local Spanish-speaking television programs, writes columns for local papers, and is a featured guest on Spanish-speaking radio shows.
Thanks to Elvira’s invaluable work, thousands of Nevadans have a deeper understanding about how the Affordable Care Act will make a difference in their lives.
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Beat of the Month
Thanks to the White House Champions of Change, It’s A New Day (by Will.I.Am).
Advocate Tip:
Track Affordable Care Act Funds
A new interactive tool from the Kaiser Family Foundation tracks funds received by states, local governments, employers, community health groups, and other entities to implement provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Use this tool to get your state’s health reform-related grant information profile.
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New Resources from Families USA and Stand Up for Health Care
Take me to back issues of the Beat!
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