Health Care

The last EDP General Meeting topic was on "Health Care at the Tipping Point" and it received positive feedback from those attending. Our feedback survey found that 25% of people completing the survey had changed their minds from unsure about single payer to supporting single payer.

We are planning more presentations and are recruiting people to sponsor house parties in order to stimulate more community conversations about health care as a right and single payer as the best option to reduce costs and improve outcomes. We know this is a marathon and not a sprint. Hope you can join with us this year to help educate our community about our wasteful health care system and the special interests that are preventing reform.

Please let us know if there are any community groups that you are part of that could have our presentation and/or if you would be willing to sponsor a house party program with family, friends and neighbors.

We have a presentation scheduled for June 15th with the Sierra Renaissance Society. At House Parties we will provide a short film and provide someone to summarize what is going on in California and answer questions. Email Maureen Dion-Perry if you can help us schedule events - dionperry@att.net.

And how will we pay for Health Care for All in California, you may ask? The short answer is "It's complicated." The details are still being worked out, but it could be something like the following two strategies:

a 6.5% Employer Payroll Tax for those with receipts over $2 million (so it would exclude small businesses). In exchange, business would no longer have to provide health insurance to employees.
an Individual Health Care Premium Tax of 2.4% on Non-Essential purchases (excluding housing, utilities, food, and probably other things).

Under this plan, individuals would no longer have to pay health insurance premiums, deductibles, and co-pays and everyone would receive comprehensive health care, dental and vision benefits.

The next meeting of the Health Care Work Group will be on April 9, 2017, from 6 - 8:30 pm. The first half hour is socializing and potluck snacks, with the meeting from 6:30 - 8:30.

We will be meeting at EDCOE, El Dorado County Office of Education, at the intersection of Missouri Flat and Green Valley Rds, Building B. Come join a fun and committed group of health care advocates.

Maureen Dion-Perry

Sexual Health Information and Resources

Our Sexual Health Information and Resources Wallet Card, born out of a request from a teen group - for more information on access to local reproductive health, is now on its third iteration.

We created this handy tri-fold card that can be carried in a wallet, with important local contacts and mobile phone apps. Although we chose to make the card attractive to teens with their Internet phones, the information is valuable to parents and educators as well.

To date, we have distributed over 3,000 of the original English-language version to more than 30 agencies and organizations on the "Western Slopes".

The second edition—in Spanish—is complete and at the printers.

Most recently, we have collaborated with a South Lake Tahoe community group of service providers, to put together a version of the Wallet Card spotlighting the sexual health resources in their area. This "Lake Tahoe" version is in final stages of production.

Our thanks to Marshall Hospital and Barton Hospital for their support in providing FamilyPACT services to teens and low-income adults, and to the El Dorado County Public Health Nursing for their collaboration on this project.

Visit www.edphealthcare.org/wallet-card and www.edphealthcare.org/tarjeta-de-cartera to see pictures of the Wallet Cards and read our guide to the online resources listed on the card. There is great information on sexuality and reproductive health for parents, teens, and educators.

Margaret Madams