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State, regional lawmakers host Health Care town hall; Livestream available

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Sonoma Valley Sun

The State and local leaders convene on Saturday, February 25, for “The Affordable Care Act: Keeping California Healthy” public meeting in Santa Rosa.

Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D. (D-West Covina), chair of the Senate Health Committee, Senator Mike McGuire, chair of the Senate Governance and Finance Committee, and Assemblymember Jim Wood, chair of the Assembly Health Committee, will discuss California’s health care and the impact on residents in the North Bay. At least 35,000 Sonoma County residents have health care because of the ACA.

Also participating: Senators Bill Dodd, Ed Hernandez, and Mike McGuire; Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Marc Levine, and Jim Wood; U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (pictured), health care advocates, local government and health care leaders, and patients.Piner High School – Performing Arts Center 1700 Fulton Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95403

The aim of the meeting is to have a conversation about the benefits health care coverage has had for residents of the North Bay and Californians, and what is at stake should the Republican Congress follow through with its repeal plans.

The meeting is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Piner High School – Performing Arts Center 1700 Fulton Road, Santa Rosa. There will be a livestream available to watch remotely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfSujCxJdl0.

California has led the nation in the implementation of health care reform and has experienced the largest percentage point decline in the uninsured rate of any state – a drop from 17.2 percent in 2013 to 7.1 percent in 2016. Nearly 3.7 million individuals have health coverage through the Medi-Cal expansion and more than 1.4 million people have coverage through Covered California.

With their push to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Republicans in Congress, according to Hernandez,  continue to threaten the health care of millions of Californians. Despite growing support for the law, and despite failing to come up with an alternative after six years, the Republican Congress wants to take health care away from the poor and working class in order to finance tax cuts for the wealthy. “To fight back against this effort, state and local leaders will gather in Sonoma County this Saturday to highlight the benefits the region has experienced as a result of the expansion of health care coverage, and what we stand to lose as a state if there’s a repeal.”

 




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