How Queers Are Organizing For Health Care Reform

Since May of 2009 QEJ has been mobilizing queers from across the country to create a collective response to the current state of health care reform. A large part of this mobilization has been focusing on the inclusion of a public option within the health care reform bill. A public option that would be available to people most discriminated against in the health care system is necessary, and immigrants, people of color, and LGBT people should organize to help save the public option in the current legislation.

Below is a list of steps and additional resources to use as a reference to create days of action in your community:

• Call your Senator! This number will connect you directly to your state’s senator: 1-877-264-HCAN (4226)
• USE THIS SCRIPT when you talk to them.
• Want to send a letter instead? USE THIS SAMPLE LETTER as a guide.
• Want the NUMBERS? READ this QUEER HEALTH CARE FACT SHEET QEJ created.
• Health Care Reform and the LGBT Community: This document outlines key concerns in regards to health care within the LGBTQ community (National Coalition for LGBT Health)
• Key Facts Race, Ethnicity and Medical Care: Want additional facts and figures? This report discusses health, health insurance coverage, access and quality of health care of racial and ethnic groups in the United States. (Kaiser Family Foundation)

More Progressive organizations working on health care reform:

Move On is a collective that strives to bring real Americans back into the political process. With 5 million members across America they work together to realize the progressive promise of our country. They are quite well known for their partnerships with celebrities and artists. They just released a new video satire of insurance companies featuring the comedian Will Ferrell. This organization hosts events across the country and facilitates community building through their website.

Health Care Now! is an education and advocacy organization that addresses the health insurance crisis in the U.S by advocating for the passage of national, single-payer healthcare legislation. By logging on to their website you can sign petitions, call your legislators and get updates on upcoming events across the country.

Mad As Hell Doctors is a group of doctors that are advocating for single-payer health care system. They are currently on a national RV tour so check out their website to view their itinerary.

Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is a national grassroots campaign of more than 1,000 organizations in 46 states representing 30 million people dedicated to winning quality, affordable health care we all can count on in 2009. They also have support from President Obama, Vice President Biden, and more than 190 Members of Congress. You can sign petitions, call your legislators and view numerous reports reviewing health care in the United States.

Here’s what progressive LGBT and people of color organizations are doing across the country around health care reform:

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) chapter in North Carolina put together a Day of Action around health care issues.

Triangle Foundation is Michigan’s foremost statewide, civil rights organization and is a leader in effective, innovative and visionary grassroots organizing and advocacy for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. They brought a contingent to a march and rally hosted by MoveOn.org and Health Care for America Now. Click here to view the press statement.

Family Equality Council works to ensure equality for LGBT families by building community, changing hearts and minds, and advocating social justice for all families. To ensure that our government provides accessible and culturally competent  health care to all families they created the ad to the left (black and white version). They plan to submit the collected stories to congress.

Raising Women’s Voices is a national initiative working to make sure women’s voices are heard in the health reform debate and women’s concerns are addressed by policymakers developing national and state health reform plans. They have produced numerous publications including What women want vs what women get: Do current health reform proposals meet our needs? Check out their website for upcoming events in your area.

Women of Color United for Health Reform issued a document entitled Health Reform Imperatives for Women and Communities of Color in addition to a fact sheet.

QEJ Mobilizes Queer Left on Health Care Reform

Back in May when we launched our Act Queer Monthly Teleconference Series on Racial & Economic Justice issues and the Queer Community, we had no idea that our first call on health care reform, was going to be one of the first of such calls open to the LGBT community to discuss the impact of the upcoming health care reform’s impact on queers around the country.

Just a few months later when the “townhall meetings” on health care reform happened in August, Interim Executive Director Kenyon Farrow began a series of conversations with Suzanne Pharr,  long-time anti -right-wing strategist and member of Southerners on New Ground (SONG) and Rebecca Fox, Executive Director of the National Coalition on LGBT Health. Not only were we outraged at the racism being exhibited at the townhall meetings and dis-information campaign being waged by the Right, but also at the lack of a response from the LGBT community on this issue, given the impact of health care on LGBT folks.

We convened several national calls in August and September to strategize what to do. We ultimately decided to call for all queer organizations, large and small to organize their bases to call their Congressional Representatives to push for a public option in the final health care proposal, and to create or join existing progressive health care mobilizations happening around the country. We  created and collected several resource materials for groups to use, including fact sheets, call script, sample letter, and got a convenient 800 number from Health Care for America now which will allow people to call toll-free to their representatives offices without having to know their local or D.C office numbers. We also requested that the National Equality March organizers include a speaker on the importance of healthcare reform to LGBTQ communities, a request that was declined.

Some of the groups that have been involved in this work include QEJ, The National Coalition on LGBT Health, Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, Astraea Foundation Movement Building Project, Gender JUST, Equality California’s Health & Human Services Network, National Gay & Lesbian Taskforce, Family Equality Foundation, Triangle Foundation, QueerToday.com,

We are also collecting some of the work that queer organizations and organizers are doing on the issue, that has not been very visible, so check out our page How Queers Are Mobilizing Around Health Care Reform!