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Mission and Objectives of the Health Care Task Force

The Health Care Task Force advocates for universal health care coverage by communicating with our public officials at the local, state and federal levels. Knowing that we cannot do all the work by ourselves, we work in coalition with other progressive advocacy organizations at all levels.  We organize and participate in presentations, rallies, call-ins and other forums that support health care for every person in the state of Maryland.  Knowing that our state and country lag behind other states and countries that spend half of what we spend, we know we must do better, and soon. Our first priority goes to support public, non-profit, low cost, guaranteed health care at the state and national level to reduce disparities, expand Medicaid and Medicare and to address the economic crisis by reducing the cost of health care and producing a healthier population.
 
Doing nothing is not an option, as that will allow costs to continue to rise, while more than 46 million people continue without adequate health care or any health care at all.
 
Since 2008 we have:

• Participated in a round of statewide Town Hall Meetings sponsored by Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative, designed to discern popular attitudes, hopes, and wishes regarding the kind of health care the people really wanted in new health care legislation. The Town Hall Meeting at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in February 26, 2008, was the best attended of the 14 meetings (90–100 persons) that taught us some surprising findings: 2/3 of the respondents reported that their premiums were too high, about 1/3 thought their medications were not affordable, 90% reported that they were very dissatisfied with the delivery of health care in the State of Maryland. Their comments were also instructive: “Ax the insurance companies. Cover everyone with the same care for all: no mandates, no deductibles, no co-pays.” Others wanted mental health parity, dental care, screening services, etc. This report was transmitted to the sponsors – the MD Citizens’ Health Initiative. (A full report is available.) 
•  We have promoted health care policies with the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland (UULM-MD) by studying, analyzing and promoting two comprehensive bills in the Maryland state legislature--the Health Care Security Act of 2009, by the Maryland Physicians for a National Health Program, and the Health Care Affordability Act of 2009 (with reservations), from the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative.
•  We have assembled a practical, useful guide for helping the uninsured find resources for health care coverage. We plan to promote it among Montgomery County’s agencies and community clinics, by training adults during RRUUC’s ACTION Week, setting up stations in clinics, grocery stores, community centers, to distribute and explain these resources to as many uninsured citizens as we can find, and to make it clear that there are options for access and coverage for which many do qualify; they just don’t realize it.
•  We promoted a community dialogue in response to requests from the Obama Transition Team to send in the voices from the community regarding their attitudes and wishes regarding the kind of health care the people really want now in new health care legislation, very similar to the purposes of the Town Hall Meetings.  We compiled a careful 3-page report that we sent to John Podesta and others in the new Obama administration. (A copy of this report too is available on request.)
• Reaching for Health Care Reform: Town Hall Meeting
  For the health care reform our country so desperately needs, the Obama Administration called on concerned citizens and grass roots organizations across the country to help.  Montgomery Health Care Action (MHCA) has worked hard for seven years with local, state, and national organizations to achieve accessible, affordable, and high quality health care for all. We hosted a Town Hall Meeting entitled Reaching for Health Care Reform September 20.

In 2011, the Health Care TF worked with many groups to implement programs and legislation to benefit all Maryland citizens by coordinating the benefits from

• 1. the federal level (the Affordable Care Act  of 2010), 
• 2. state level (Maryland’s part in the ACA, and the MD Alcohol Tax Bills) and at
• 3. local levels: public health programs to help strengthen the local and state health care safety nets in community health centers and migrant health centers). 

Specifically, we have worked with groups on the MD Health Care Reform Coordinating Council for implementation of the ACA in a Maryland Health Care Exchange (Legislation was passed to establish the Maryland Health Benefits Exchange, required under the Federal Health Care Reform Act and funded with federal funds. This exchange will provide major benefits to many Marylanders who need insurance; it is scheduled to be in operation by January 1, 2014).  Further the Health Care TF worked with Sen. Jamie Raskin and Rep. Sheila Hixson for better public health funding of programs through a new campaign called, “Fund our Communities – Bring the War Dollars Home.” This is an effort promoted by Peace Action and Jean Athey to reach out to all the Congressional Legislators we can find to ask them to join together for revenues greatly needed in our communities.  See the letter written by Raskin and Hixson to the U. S. Congress.

Contact: Virginia Richardson