President Barack Obama has officially Proclaimed August 9th- 15th National Health Center Week, 2015! Check out the official White House Proclamation and be sure to send us your state and local #NHCW15 Proclamations for us to share and post on the HCW website!
We are also pleased to share brand new Health Center data and NHCW infographics created by the NACHC research team. Check out these great new resources and take advantage of the custom Health Center infographic tool to customize a #NHCW15 infographic for your Health Center!
Help us spread the word about NHCW on social media: Use the hashtag #NHCW15 to let everyone know how you are celebrating this year! Help spread the word and make Health Center Week the biggest and best yet! Check out our #NHCW15 social media post guide for sample posts! Helpful tip: use social media to thank your elected officials for their support by tagging and communicating with them directly! Don’t be shy, ask elected officials to post about National Health Center Week on their social media pages using the hashtag #NHCW15.
After lots of planning and hard work, National Health Center Week 2015 (August 9-15) has finally arrived and it is time to celebrate! At thousands of events and in hundreds of ways across the country, Health Center staff, board members, patients, community leaders, and other Health Center advocates are celebrating the great work that Health Centers do in bringing high-quality, cost effective, and accessible care to millions of patients.
Best Wishes for a Wonderful Week of Celebrations – Happy National Health Center Week 2015!
to watch the video “Health Centers: Paving the Road to Good Health“
Your Health Center Needs YOU to TAKE ACTION NOW!
In a matter of months the Health Centers Program will be facing a potential 70% reduction in funding. It is being called the “Health Centers Funding Cliff”. A funding cut this size would almost certainly force many Health Centers to close sites, lay off staff, and reduce the services they provide, leaving millions of current health center patients and communities without access to health care services they need. The only way to stop this cut from happening is for President Obama and the Congress to take action to ‘fix the cliff’.
Given the intense pressure to reduce federal spending, neither the President nor Congress will act to fix the cliff unless tens of thousands of people – staff, board, patients and community allies – who care about health centers weigh in. That means we need YOU to step up and help ‘fix the cliff’ starting right NOW. The first thing you need to do is sign the Health Center Funding Cliff petition. The petition asks President Obama to act immediately to stop Health Center funding cuts to ensure that Health Centers can continue to meet the healthcare needs of millions of Americans. Signing the petition is an easy and important FIRST STEP to making sure we ‘fix the Health Center funding cliff’.
Take Action Now:
You and every Health Center Advocate should be prepared for many calls to action in the months ahead. Once the support and commitment of President Obama to ‘fix the cliff’ has been gained, THEN our attention will need to be turned to Congress and ask Senators and Representatives to provide not only the funding to preserve ongoing Health Center services, but also to expand access to Health Centers’ cost effective model of care to every community, especially those that currently lack basic primary care services.
We will need advocates like you and thousands more to take action each time you receive an alert asking for your help to ‘fix the cliff’. The future of the Health Centers Program will depend on advocates like you making a commitment to Health Center advocacy and taking action when it matters the most.
Starting in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has the potential to reduce the number of uninsured by one-half to two-thirds. But not everyone will be covered. In fact, California might still have 3-4 million remaining uninsured for various reasons, such as income level or immigration status, or even those who forget to sign up and fall through the cracks.
This is why California needs a safety-net that survives and thrives.
Yet Governor Jerry Brown is insisting on cutting existing dollars that currently support the county health care safety net, crucial funds that support public hospitals, clinics, and county low-income health programs. Governor Brown’s plan is concerning— out of the $1.4 billion in existing state funds that go towards counties, he seeks to take away $300 million in the first six months, and up to $1.3 billion by the third year.
Gov. Brown’s formula will prevent many counties from covering *all* the remaining uninsured.
We firmly believe all Californians should have access to basic primary and preventative care up front, which is more efficient and effective than relying on emergency rooms. It’s in our best interest to help maintain healthy and thriving communities when everybody has basic health access.
But we’re racing against the clock– the fate of the remaining uninsured and California’s safety net will be decided in the next few days, as the Legislature approaches their budget deadline on June 15th.
We need your voice. Help us prevent Governor Brown from taking away dollars from counties, and let him know how important it is to maintain basic safety-net care for the remaining uninsured.
ACTION:
Please contact your local legislator and let them know you care about the safety net and you’d like the Governor to protect it! Find your legislator and their phone number here!
Join Planned Parenthood Shasta Pacific and We Care for California (WCCA) in Sacramento on June 4th to stop cuts that hurt access to health care for low-income Californians, including Planned Parenthood clients.
Please help us show strength by joining thousands of supporters at this historic rally in support of two bills (SB 640 and AB 900) that would block devastating cuts to Medi-Cal.
When: Tuesday, June 4
Time: 11:00am-4:00pm
Where: California State Capitol, Sacramento
There is no charge to participate and lunch/snacks and a t-shirt will be provided. There are limited seats available and you must RSVP by May 31 to participate in this event. Bus transportation is being organized across the state, exact pick-up locations will be provided after we have received your registration.
Please direct any inquiries to Marsha at .
Safety Net & Health Care Provider Call in Day – Friday, May 10!
Today is the final day of the coalition Medi-Cal Call-In Week. Each day has had a different theme. Today, Friday, May 10 is focused on how important this expansion will be to safety net providers. The ACA provides federal funding to expand Medi-Cal to over 1.4 million uninsured Californians. Our state legislators have been working hard to expand Medi-Cal as quickly and as simply as possible, but Governor Brown has been delaying this crucial opportunity and has not made a commitment to the 3-4 million Californians who will remain uninsured.
Call the Governor TODAY at or email him and tell him, “We need you to expand Medi-Cal as quickly and as fully as possible and we need you to protect our health safety net and the millions of Californians that rely on it for their care.”
Please join advocates across California in a VIRTUAL LOBBY DAY today to call on Governor Brown to move forward with the fastest and fullest implementation of the Medi-Cal Expansion possible. We need your help today to lobby the Governor -and you can join us from the comfort of your computer, smartphone, or tablet!
The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) allows the state to expand Medi-Cal to over ONE MILLION uninsured Californians starting on January 1, 2014. But in order to open the doors on January 1st, the state must get to work NOW. We need your help sending a message (tweet, email, or facebook) to the Governor that those in our communities that need healthcare cannot afford delay, and our state cannot afford to leave federal dollars on the table!
EMAIL THE GOVERNOR
You can email the Governor on his website: http://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php
Tell the Governor that:
- We can’t afford to wait any longer to expand Medi-Cal
- The expansion is 100% federally funded for the first 3 years
- We need to ensure access to care for those who are left out of Obamacare
- Why this is important to you!
TWEET THE GOVERNOR
Please tweet the Governor – begin your tweet with and end your tweet with #Health4All
Here are some sample tweets
CA needs to expand Medi-Cal fully and urgently! 1.4 mil Californians can get covered with little cost to CA! #Health4All
Don’t risk delaying Medi-Cal expansion and CA leaving federal $$ in DC. The fiscally prudent is to expand Medi-Cal ASAP.
California needs Medi-Cal Expansion, which is 100% federally funded for 1st 3 years, and matched 9:1 after. #Health4All
Expand Medi-Cal NOW to keep Obamacare implementation moving in CA! Millions can’t afford healthcare in CA. #Health4All
Delaying Medi-Cal expansion delays Obamacare implementation while Californians get sicker and can’t afford care. #Health4All
Expanding Medi-Cal NOW so 1.4 million get healthcare, federally funded. Healthier California = Priceless. #Health4AllTHE GOVERNOR
FACEBOOK
Ask your facebook communities to get involved in our virtual lobby day! Share this action alert with your networks!
Let’s make sure Governor Brown hears that California needs the Medi-Cal expansion NOW!
Urge your Senator to oppose an amendment that will deny access to health care to immigrant families!
Right now, the Senate is considering an amendment by Senator Sessions, #208, that would have a grave impact on immigrants and their families.
Sessions #208 would deny health care to legal immigrants who were formerly undocumented.
This amendment would have a devastating impact on low-income immigrant families and will also undermine bipartisan efforts to achieve common sense immigration reform that are currently underway in the Senate.
We urge you to call your senators NOW:
Senator Barbara Boxer
Phone:
District Phone:
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Phone:
District Phone:
Suggested talking points: “My name is [your name] and I am calling to urge [your senator's name] to oppose Sessions amendment #208. It is vitally important to ensure that health care is available to low-income immigrant families.”
The California Primary Care Association (CPCA) is working in coordination with key organizations dedicated to the passage of Medi-Cal Expansion in the special session. We are part of this larger effort because we can be most powerful when we act as one voice and make this united voice heard.
This call-in day is one opportunity to make the Governor very much aware that the people of California want Medi-Cal Expansion.
As part of this larger advocacy effort, we are asking you to pick up the phone TODAY, Wednesday, March 20th, and call the Governor to help ensure that Governor Brown makes the Affordable Care Act a reality in California.
Please call the Governor on TODAY, at or email him through his website and tell him: Governor Brown, we’re counting on you to expand Medi-Cal as soon as possible, our communities can’t afford delaying this important program. Thank you.
President Barack Obama has officially Proclaimed August 9th- 15th National Health Center Week, 2015! Check out the official White House Proclamation and be sure to send us your state and local #NHCW15 Proclamations for us to share and post on the HCW website!