| The latest news from and for state health care advocates |
February 2010 |
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In This Issue:
Buzz around the States
North Carolina Policy Watch uses their blog to create an open forum for people to share stories about insurance rate hikes.
Take Action Minnesota rallies for reform with Senator Al Franken.
Tennessee Health Care Campaign puts on regional conferences to talk to leaders about what is really in reform and what is in store for Tennessee.
Citizen Action of Wisconsin asks members to tell Congress to Pass and Pledge federal reform.
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States in Focus
Hitting the Streets in the Name of Health Care Reform and Melanie
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As an uninsured individual who missed the critical treatments she needed and succumbed to her struggle with cancer, Melanie Shouse represents America’s broken health care system. The March to the Finish Line for Melanie is a memorial to a hero in the health reform movement. It is also a large undertaking by many state and national partners, but the message that the marchers bring can no longer be ignored by Congress. Use their compelling message in your work: Real Americans are depending on reform, and for so many, it is a matter of life and death. |
The idea started with a group of health care advocates in Pennsylvania. And then it grew and grew some more. Now, the March to the Finish Line for Melanie is a multi-state, multi-group, weeklong series of events. Organized by the Philadelphia Unemployment Project and Pennsylvania HCAN to deliver a powerful message to Washington right as leaders are meeting to decide the fate of reform, the march has core group of 10 people, several with their own health care stories, journeying from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. Along the way, they will pick up hundreds of people who all care about getting health reform passed.
The march will make stops at small businesses and churches to spread the important message—health care reform can’t wait! Larger rallies are taking place in Delaware and Maryland. The march will culminate with hundreds of people marching the final leg of the journey right onto Capitol Hill ending with an event featuring members of Congress, marchers, and members of Melanie Shouse’s family, the march’s namesake. You can find the route of the march, a list of events and stops, bios of the marchers, and more at www.melaniesmarch.com. Organizers’ ability to manage 17 events in seven days is no easy feat and has often resulted in little sleep.
The march is named in honor of Melanie Shouse, a much loved activist from Missouri who recently passed away after a struggle with breast cancer. Melanie, like thousands of others, missed critical treatments because she could not find affordable health care coverage, and her struggle represents the health care system at its worst.
This march has attracted the attention of activists, members of Congress, and media all over the country. Pennsylvania organizers have coordinated the involvement and support of several groups in each state as well as several national organizations, who have been working together to make it a success all along the way. As the march goes on, you can follow it all at www.melaniesmarch.com.
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Take advantage of people’s frustrations and anger, and call them to action. CBHC and health care activists in Illinois are taking some of the most direct actions they have in quite some time to raise the profile of health care reform and get the attention of media and members of Congress. Work within your own capacity to do the actions that make sense in your state. But do not underestimate the power of 10 people making a raucous in a member’s district office. Now is the time to stir things up. |
The Fire Is Starting in Illinois
With the health care reform fight at a critical turning point, activists around the country have to pull out all the stops. Jim Duffett, Executive Director of the Campaign for Better Health Care (CBHC) in Illinois, has led an effort by advocates across the country to take direct action toward members of Congress to make their voices heard.
According to Jim, a few short weeks ago many of the most engaged health care activists in Illinois were feeling battle fatigue. They had stopped making calls and coming out to events in the large numbers they once had. The momentum for health reform had most certainly slowed as the process to get it done became more and more complex in Washington. Then, after the special election in Massachusetts left most people confused and unsure of the future of the movement, CBHC sent out a survey to see where people stood. The results were overwhelming. Illinoisans were mad and ready to take action.
Since then, Jim says his coalition’s conference calls have seen a sharp increase in attendance and CBHC has been able to help groups take direct action in favor of reform. Quickly, the CBHC team created a plan to get media coverage, get their voices directly to members of Congress, and capitalize on the anger and frustration in their network. In order to illustrate the truly deadly consequences of failure to pass reform, CBHC and partners kicked-off their Get it Done Shoe Campaign with a “die-in” at the State Capitol on Tuesday, February 16. Using numbers from Families USA’s newest report, Lives on the Line, they illustrated the urgency of reform by having faith leaders lay on the ground to represent the loss of human life. This powerful event kicked off a several-week campaign where activists will bring pairs of empty shoes to Congressional district offices to represent people who have lost their lives due to lack of health coverage.
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CBHC’s efforts in Illinois are not happening in a vacuum. Their survey is available for other groups to replicate and find out how if their networks are ready to beat fatigue. CBHC also has put videos and pictures on their website in real time so that others can follow their events and learn from their successes. As the health care reform fight heats up again in the next couple weeks Illinoisans will not let up, they will do whatever it takes to pass reform and get one step closer to achieving health care justice for all.
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Video stories are a great way to take advantage of new technologies and increase visibility for your health care stories. Filming inside a story sharer’s home makes the video even more compelling, but it also is only possible after building trust with a family. Check out UHPP’s videos as a model for your own video stories! |
Bringing Health Reform Home in Utah
By now, almost every health care advocate across the country has realized the value of health care stories. Personal stories make the health care reform fight real. People with health care stories are vital players in the health reform fight, whether at press events, on legislative visits, or testifying at hearings. The Utah Health Policy Project (UHPP) has maintained a robust storybank for years now, but recently explored a new and exciting way to use their stories.
Through a partnership with Consumers Union, UHPP developed some of their best stories into videos. Judi Hilman, Executive Director of the Utah Health Policy Project, explained that videos became part of their strategy due to the busy schedule of their story sharers. It is often hard for people to take time off work or school to testify at a hearing and making videos has allowed story sharers to be in multiple places at once.
Judi embraces this strategy because it brings the grassroots more directly into the policy making arena and has found video stories as a unique way to accomplish that. UHPP partnered with Consumers Union to create the first two video stories, which allowed them to receive professional help. The stories are especially compelling because they are filmed in the participant’s homes, which opens a window into the daily life of the story sharer. UHPP’s videos show that people with health care stories are our neighbors, friends, and family members. The videos are well done, compelling, and versatile. Using the first video as a model, UHPP has created a third video with the help of an intern.
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The complexities of health care reform have created confusion among the general public. Because the issue has generated so much political double talk, regular people do not know who to believe and do not understand what health reform will do. Who can people trust? They can trust their doctors. Doctors for America is launching a new site where people can ask doctors questions about reform. Send this link, http://askadoctoraboutreform.org/,out to your networks and let people get their questions answered! | |
New Resources from Families USA and Stand Up for Health Care
What would you like to see in the State Health Beat? Contact Lydia Gottesfeld to share your thoughts and opinions.
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