Founding a Single Payer Health Care Organization in Illinois

Submitted by Tomasw on May 11, 2007 - 9:40am.
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This session will be on: June 29, 2007 - 10:30am

It will be held at: The Library room at the St. Luke's Episcopal Church

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Organization Description

Health Care for All Illinois was founded in the fall of 2006 by Illinois members of Physicians for National Health Care and health activists who were frustrated by the migration of the statewide consumer advocacy group, the Campaign for Better Health Care from being a strong supporter of a Medicare/ single payer solution to the health crisis in the US and Illinois. They had compromised the right solution to proposing one that gave them more funding and access to the institutional powers opposing change. Our new group has taken off like a rocket and we have sponsored a single payer bill, we have spread to new areas of the state and we are in the process of training many activists to take up our movement through a health care leadership and speaker training. Our legislation would create a single payer system in Illinois. And in contrast to the Governors proposal the leaves out many uninsured people and costs a furtune any way would provide health care for all using the saving of the less complex and more efficient system to give comprehensive coverage to everyone.

Proposal Demographics

identify as women
are 65 years or older

Session Description

This session will describe the work of creating a single payer coalition in a large diverse industrial state and the nature and successes and set backs of the organization over its short history. The session will go into the need to bring broad sectors of society to the table to be effective in this endeavor and how to do that. It will describe the leading roll that unions have played and the importance that PNHP has given in helping create a strong coalition. Other sectors include seniors, people with disabilities, and artists. We will discuss sectors where we are still weak, particularly immigrants, poor people, people of color and the faith community.

This presentation would be very compatible combined with reports on what other states are doing to fight for universal, high quality affordable health care insured by the public sector or compared to other approaches.

We will have handouts in English.


First Name

Tom

Last Name

Wilson

Contact E-mail

tomas@accessliving.org

Proposing Organization

Access Living

Organization Website

www.accessliving.org

Position or Title

Personal Assistant and Health Care Team Leader

Contact Telephone

312-640-2125

Alternate Telephone

773-288-3025

Event Day

Friday, June 29th (Visioning / Envisioning Another World)

Contact Address

115 West Chicago Ave.

Format

opening presentation and small group discussion

Contact City

Chicago

Keywords

Advocacy
Health
Non profits

Audience Number

less than 25 people

Contact State

IL

Contact ZIP

60610