| The latest news from and for state health care advocates |
May 2010 |
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In This Issue:
Buzz around the States
New Jersey groups organize massive rally with 30,000 people to protest the Governor’s budget cuts!
North Carolina Justice Center video goes national and gets play on cable TV.
Virginia Organizing Project raises money through Internet searches.
Iowa Citizen Action Network celebrates coverage for young adults as a graduation gift for Moms, Dads, and grads.
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States in Focus
New Mexico’s Working Group on Implementation
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While every state will face different challenges in implementation, a working group can begin the process of bringing together the right people to influence and advise the state as important decisions arise about the implementation of the new law. Check out this resource provided by the National Governor’s Association to see what’s happening in your state and across the country.
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Just after the passage of the new health care law, the health advocacy community in New Mexico—just like many other states across the country—wanted to ensure that their state took full advantage of the opportunities for new federal funding to expand coverage. Barbara Webber, Executive Director of Health Action New Mexico, and others recommended legislation that would create a health reform working group. The purpose of the working group would be to review key decisions, timelines, and opportunities for New Mexico to implement the new law. The group would make recommendations to the state legislature regarding the new law. The legislature established the working group through a memorial and began meeting in May.
Represented on the group are the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, the high-risk pool, the Superintendent of Insurance, and representatives from the state legislature. The group meets monthly, discussing different policy issues at each meeting. For each issue there are opportunities for advocates to form advisory groups, incorporating consumer and advocacy voices into the work group. From Medicaid to the Exchange to Workforce issues, advocates have formed these councils in several areas, providing them with the opportunity to advise the working group on specific issues. In particular, the Medicaid Coalition serves as the advisory council on Medicaid issues and safety net.
The working group is time limited, and is set to produce a report to the legislature by November 1, 2010. The health care coalition will then take over the role that the working group had been playing. By pulling together groups and agencies that have a role in reform, consumer advocates can continue to make sure that New Mexico takes optimal advantage of the new health reform law.
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The fight to approve an early Medicaid expansion was a very exciting and busy time for advocates in Minnesota. Although coverage was not expanded this session, advocates strengthened their relationships with key legislators and built the grassroots support necessary to come back next session to pass the expansion.
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High Hopes for Early Medicaid Expansion in Minnesota
As consumer advocates in Minnesota geared up for the 2010 legislative session, they made the early Medicaid expansion option a top priority. As part of the General Assistance Medical Care coalition, Take Action Minnesota, the Minnesota Nurses Association, and MN Legal Services Advocacy Project, jumped into action. Take Action Minnesota’s Policy Director Liz Doyle said, “Going into this fight, we knew we needed to unify a diverse group of people, spend significant time lobbying public officials on both sides of the aisle, and generate a lot of media attention to win public support.”
In the weeks leading up to the vote, the coalition coordinated several lobby days, each highlighting key constituencies that would benefit from early expansion, generated several thousand calls into the legislature, and held numerous rallies outside the capitol building.
Their efforts helped the legislation reach the Governor’s desk, but unfortunately, an apprehensive Governor Pawlenty did not sign the legislation. After months of public pressure from Take Action Minnesota and their coalition partners, Governor Pawlenty approved $10 million dollars to restore the General Assistance Medical Care program and agreed to give the future Governor the authority to expand Medicaid.
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The new health reform law was a great first step for the entire country. There are some states, and Vermont is an excellent example, that will be leaders going above and beyond the requirements of the new law.
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Vermont Advocates Want to Lead the Way toward Universal Coverage
Richard Davis with Vermont Citizen’s Campaign for Health is excited about SB88. The recently passed legislation calls for three studies in the next year on health reform. The studies will look at three different options for Vermont to achieve universal health coverage, one of which will be a single payer option. These plans must be submitted to the state legislature by January 2011, when the legislature will have to act on one of them.
Each study will take into account the context of federal reform to show how Vermont can go above and beyond the new law to expand coverage to all. Advocates are hoping that the studies will reveal the most cost efficient way to cover the most Vermonters. Because federal health reform does not allow for this kind of independent expansion until 2017, Davis says they are working with Senator Bernie Sanders to move up that timeline.
The “Health Care is a Human Right Campaign” has been building toward this moment for two years now. Last year, the campaign kicked off with one of the largest rallies in the state’s history at the capital. So far in 2010, the campaign has sponsored a series of educational forums around the state. Although prospects for this legislation were discouraging just a few months ago, an outcry of grassroots support turned the tide in Montpelier. The campaign brought over 1,000 Vermonters from all across the state to the capital on May 1, 2010 to urge their legislators to pass this bill. “Vermont will lead the nation in health care” was the mantra as activists marched down the streets of Montpelier. Senator Bernie Sanders was also present at the rally to show his support.
The grassroots pressure worked. On May 11, 2010, S.88 passed the Senate in a bipartisan vote of 25-4. The bill will now land on the Governor’s desk. While there is a chance that Governor Douglas will override the legislature, there is also an opportunity for a special veto override session in which state legislators would return. Advocates are optimistic, fired up, and ready to keep pushing to get all Vermonters equal opportunity to health care.
Beat of the Month
Do you got the Beat? Enjoy this month’s Beat of the Month: We Got the Beat by the Go Gos.
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Still trying to educate the public on how the new bill will help citizens in your state? Use our newly developed, state-specific one-pagers to highlight all the benefits that your state will receive because of the bill. These consumer-friendly documents are great for public education, talking points, and other implementation events in your state. If you would like to customize this document with your group’s logo, just email stateinfo@familiesusa.org and we can make that happen. We hope you find these one-pagers useful as you continue your work. Just click here and start educating!
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New Resources from Families USA and Stand Up for Health Care
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