Healthcare Coalition Forms as Ballot Drive Ends
Healthcare for Michigan Ballot Committee
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 27, 2008
Contact: Dan Farough
(517) 999-3646
(517) 643-2949
New citizens group aims to hold legislators’ feet to fire
LANSING – Surrounded by tens of thousands of signed petition sheets and patients who lack healthcare, citizens groups today launched a new healthcare action coalition that aims to continue the fight to make healthcare affordable and available to all Michigan families, and fix a broken system. The coalition was announced after the Healthcare Ballot for Michigan campaign was officially ended.
“The fight for affordable, quality healthcare is far from over even though the ballot campaign has ended,” said John Freeman, executive director of Healthcare Ballot for Michigan. “This fight is too important. Too many people are one pink slip away from losing their healthcare, too many people don’t have healthcare and too many businesses are going bankrupt because of the outrageously high cost of healthcare. This new coalition will hold Lansing’s feet to the fire and stand up for Michigan families that have been hit hard by our healthcare crisis.”
The campaign gathered more than 125,000 signatures, many collected by legions of volunteers who are now core members of the continuing effort to expand healthcare access and affordability in Michigan.
Groups that joined the new Healthcare for Michigan effort include Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, SEIU Healthcare Michigan, Michigan Citizen Action, Michigan Universal Health Care Access Network, Michigan Nurses Association, National Physicians Association, Michigan Osteopathic Association, Gamaliel of Michigan and many other unions, faith-based groups and advocacy organizations.
“On behalf of families struggling to get healthcare, I want to thank all the citizens who stood with us and fought for us,” said *Paul Burns a working citizen who doesn’t have healthcare. “We work hard, we play by the rules and what happened to us – losing our healthcare with no warning – can happen to anyone in today’s struggling economy. That’s why we must continue this fight to fix our healthcare system to protect families, bring relief to employers and make a positive change for Michigan.”
“People who play by the rules and work hard should never have to fear losing healthcare for themselves and their families,” said Pat Gaghen of Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength, or MOSES, a faith-based community organization. “At a time when many people are just one pink slip away from bankruptcy and losing their jobs, it’s all the more important that we do everything in our power to protect healthcare access. Our faiths teach us to stand with those who suffer, that the community suffers when one suffers – and that’s why we must keep fighting to fix our broken healthcare system.”
Freeman said: “Despite the special interests and the competition for money during a presidential election year, we are not giving up our work to fix Michigan’s broken healthcare system. We have 125,000 voices, a diverse coalition of groups and a volunteer network that is second to none. The ballot campaign will be a vehicle to pressure the Legislature to act to fix healthcare. We will be working collaboratively to tackle this spiraling healthcare crisis.”
“As medical students and professionals on the frontlines of the healthcare debate, we see firsthand why healthcare is vital to our families, our communities and our local economy,” said Michelle Debbink of the American Medical Students Association. “Michigan is facing a serious crisis right now and we need to provide long-term healthcare security to our families and businesses. A strong healthcare system is the key to moving Michigan forward and that’s why we’re proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these outstanding citizens groups.”
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