At 412 House Parties Statewide, Thousands of Californians Share Healthcare Stories & Demand Action to Fix Healthcare

“We have an extraordinary opportunity this year to fix a problem that has been ignored too long, the deterioration of our healthcare,” said Betsy Imholz, Consumers Union, Special Projects Director. ”As costs continue to increase, consumers have seen an array of harmful side effects: our benefits are shrinking or disappearing; even with insurance, healthcare is less affordable; fewer people have access to healthcare through their jobs, and more and more are denied coverage in the individual insurance market.”

“People invited their friends and family into their homes and opened their hearts to discuss healthcare and take action because it’s such a personally important issue to each of us,” said Jeanine Meyer Rodriguez, Issue Campaign Director for SEIU California State Council. “This level of personal involvement in a legislative campaign is unprecedented in my 17 years of political work in California, and the reason is clear: this issue touches us all profoundly, regardless of where we live, what we do for a living, or what political party we belong to.”

It’s OUR Healthcare! is a coalition representing 9 million California consumers, and the coalition encouraged members to weigh in now because legislators are in the final weeks of working out the key components of their healthcare proposals. While there will be opportunity for further changes later, the primary bills that are likely to move forward this year, AB 8 (Nunez) and SB 48 (Perata), are still taking shape.

“In order to pass health reform that benefits consumers, our voices need to be as plentiful and loud as those of the insurers, employers and providers, who are well represented in Sacramento," said Anthony Wright, Executive Director, Health Access - California. “The proposals need to expand coverage and provide more security for people who get coverage on the job, who enroll in public programs, or who buy insurance as individuals. Reforms should ensure affordability, with regard to buying coverage and getting care, and should control costs in the system as a whole.”