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:

• Sign the Health Center Funding Cliff Petition at the NACHC Grassroots Action Center. Our short term goal is to collecting 25,000 signatures in the month of October. You can help us do that. If we can reach this goal we hope to earn a direct response from the White House to our concerns. You can also download a hard copy template of the petition from the Campaign for America’s Health Centers website. This will to allow you to ask anyone at your health center or organization to sign the petition.
• Forward this alert and/or the link to the petition and personally ask your friends, family and colleagues to sign it to support your Health Center and the patients it serves.

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!

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 20^th, 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.