News
San Jose launches series of Health Reform Town Halls with CA Congressmembers
People Acting in Community Together (PACT San Jose), May 28, 2009
Last night, over 300 faith leaders from PACT San Jose and other Bay Area PICO affiliates held the first of a series of town hall meetings in California with Members of Congress to build support for health care reform legislation.
PICO leaders highlighted the need to include in the legislation a strong "Affordability Standard" that would limit what moderate and middle-income families could be charged to receive the quality care they need.
At the event, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, and Rep. Mike Honda, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, both committed to working with PACT and PICO to ensure that health reform moves forward this year, that it includes affordable options for all families, and that it addresses ethnic/language disparities as well as the high-cost of living in regions like the San Francisco Bay Area.
During the meeting, PACT released the California results of a nationwide survey on health care costs conducted by PICO and Community Catalyst. Click here to see the full report.
Key findings of the report include:
- One of every four California families report not getting care they needed due to cost. For those earning between 200-400% of the FPL, this figure jumps to nearly one of every three families.
- A large majority of California families earning below 200 percent of poverty, along with many earning between 200-400 percent of poverty, have little or no excess income to contribute to health coverage after meeting their daily necessities.
- Just over half of all health care costs that Californians report paying are above and beyond premiums. These are in the form of co-pays, deductibles and needed health care services that are not covered by insurance.
The success of federal health care reform legislation hinges on whether it makes health care affordable and accessible to all families in California and across the United States. This is especially true for California voters, who are facing one of the most trying economic times in decades.
The town hall meeting comes as PICO and other national religious groups launched a series of radio ads in key states featuring local pastors reminding elected officials that making health care affordable is a profound moral issue. You can listen to the ads here >>
For more information on PICO's faith-based health care campaign, visit www.coverallfamilies.org
