Press Release -----FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Alann Salvador
818-378-6758;
[email protected]
Eric Lamotte
714-357-4006;
[email protected]
Amanda Foran
360-259-0089;
[email protected]
HEALTHCARE STUDENTS TO RALLY IN SACRAMENTO, DEMAND REAL REFORM SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 10th, 2011 – Shortly after Governor Brown announces his new budget to guide policy in the Golden State, students will march through the streets of Sacramento and rally on the steps of the Capitol from 11:30AM - 1:30pm to demand an expansion of healthcare access to all Californians. Students will articulate to state legislators that single payer healthcare reform will be an integral aspect of a stabilized and balanced California budget. The event is being organized by the California Health Professional Student Alliance (CaHPSA), a student-led organization fighting for health justice, and will mark the largest coordinated effort by future health professionals in California to promote universal healthcare. More than 1000 students and community members from across the state are expected to demonstrate, followed by legislative meetings with State Senators and Assembly Members. The rally and legislative visits are in support of California State Senate Bill 810 (SB 810) introduced by newly-appointed Budget Chair Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), proposing publicly funded healthcare coverage to all Californians as a cost-effective and patient-centered solution to a broken system. The new administration can breathe fresh life into SB 810, which has passed both houses twice only to be vetoed by former Governor Schwarzenegger. Far from being an isolated crusade, the students are inspired by the many groups already campaigning for a single-payer system at the national level. Physicians for a National Health Program reports that sixty-five percent of practicing physicians are in favor of such a reform. CaHPSA believes that the California Single Payer Healthcare model can become the platform for change to address the shortcomings with the recent national reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that will still leave 23 million Americans uninsured, and millions more underinsured. Governor Brown continues momentum towards solutions that can restore prosperity in California and improve the wellbeing of its residents. Students gathered at the event are seizing the opportunity to send a clear message about the only way they believe sustainable, affordable, and quality care can become a reality: single-payer health care for all.
www.cahpsa.org * www.pnhp.org * www.pnhpcalifornia.org