I’d like to help make 100% Access by 2008 a reality in my community!

Ask elected officials where they stand on community-based health care

Identify your local representatives, Find Your Legislator (Link to the District Information, Washington State Legislature)

Questions to ask policy makers and candidates

1. More than half a million people in Washington are uninsured. Emergency departments, community health centers, rural health clinics and other providers commonly referred to as the safety net are being overwhelmed. The public programs that support the uninsured are being cut. In our five-county region over 50,000 people are currently uninsured.
   What will you do to strengthen the safety net for our uninsured?
    
2. Over the past two years 20,000 kids lost health coverage during the immigrant transfer to Basic Health, 20,000 more are losing coverage due to new administrative hurdles, and an anticipated 4,000 will lose coverage due to scheduled premium charges. In our five county region alone there are about 23,000 kids on Medicaid but over 42,000 kids are currently uninsured. An average of 75% of all people in our region believe that in times of scarce resources, programs and services for children should have priority over programs that serve adults.
   How will you ensure ALL of our children have access to high quality health care?
    
3. More than 75% of the people CHOICE helps to find insurance come from families where at least one person is working. Many employers are doing what they can to provide health care for their employees. However, some large corporations have not been carrying their fair share. Their workers are stuck - they have no health insurance and health care is beyond their reach.
   What will you do to ensure that all working people have access to health insurance?
    
4. Innovative community partnerships are springing up to address the health care crisis in our region. Communities are learning from other communities across the nation that real community-based solutions are a reality. These partnerships are creating solutions that work if given appropriate flexibility.
   What will you do to give these community partnerships the flexibility they need to be successful?
   
5. People who live in rural communities are more likely to have less access to health care. People from rural counties are often poorer and sicker than those from urban counties. A recent poll found that 77% of people polled in rural counties didn’t believe people in their community were getting the health care they need.
   What will you do to provide better access to health care for people in rural communities?
    
6. Better health is a partnership between individuals, the private sector and government. Some of our basic health depends on strong prevention activities - like preventing the spread of Mad Cow Disease, controlling SARS, and keeping drinking water safe. A recent poll found that 88% of people from our region believe that programs and services that prevent disease should have funding priority over programs and services that provide high technology medical care to prolong life.
   What will you do to ensure we have a strong public health system?