[Peace-discuss] Fw: [cchcc-l] Have you been denied health care? Call Rep. Tim Johnson today!

Tue Jul 14 13:52:36 CDT 2009

Please forward widely.
 --Jenifer

--- On Tue, 7/14/09, Allison Jones <allison at healthcareconsumers.org> wrote:

From: Allison Jones <allison at healthcareconsumers.org>
Subject: [cchcc-l] Have you been denied health care? Call Rep. Tim Johnson today!
To: cchcc-l at lists.shout.net
Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 11:49 AM

Dear Friends,

Community member, John Kenneth Young, who cares very much about health care
reform, was recently challenged by Congressman Tim Johnson to produce two
(2!) individuals from the 15th Congressional District who have ever been
denied health care.

Mr. Young had run into Rep. Johnson at a fitness facility in town and
engaged him in a conversation about national health care reform. The
conversation did not go well, as Rep. Johnson steadfastly refuses to believe
that our nation's health care "system" is in crisis, and that this crisis is
being felt locally, in the form of individuals being denied access to health
care.

Mr. Young turned to Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) because
he knows that we work with people every day who are suffering the ravages of
our health care system.

**************************
HEALTH CARE - DENIED!
It is no secret in this community that you can be denied access to health
care if:

- you have no insurance

- you have Medicaid (Rep. Johnson apparently does not recall the recent
groundbreaking lawsuit by IL Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, against Carle
Clinic and Christie Clinic for conspiring to deny care to thousands of
Medicaid patients)

- whether insured or not, you owe money to one of our for-profit physician
Clinics and deemed a patient of no-service until you pay the debt to the
Clinic's satisfaction

- and, even if you have Health Alliance! (Please note: if you have Health
Alliance and have been denied care at Carle Clinic -- or "no serviced" --
CCHCC wants to hear from you as soon as possible. We are meeting with Carle
Clinic to address this issue, and we need to hear from Health Alliance
members who are or have been denied care -- please call or e-mail us,
a.s.a.p.)

CCHCC'S Health Care Access Task Force has thoroughly documented this
situation. Our clients have been featured in national publications like The
Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

**************************
JOHNSON'S SOLUTION TO THE HEALTH CARE CRISIS: "TWEAK" THE SYSTEM!

Apparently, Rep. Johnson does not read the local news, and so he has not
heard these stories. Also, apparently, Rep. Johnson does not pay attention
to the referrals that his own office makes to our organization, CCHCC, to
help 15th District constituents get health care when Rep. Johnson's office
can do nothing to help those constituents. Yes, CCHCC receives referrals
from Rep. Johnson's office on a regular basis, and many of these are clients
who are being denied access to care -- and many of these are people who
actually have health insurance (including Health Alliance!).

In today's News-Gazette, Rep. Tim Johnson is quoted as saying that the
health care system just needs to be "tweaked" and that national health
reform isn't necessary. Rep. Johnson can believe this because he is ignoring
the reality of thousands of local community members (15th Congressional
District constituents) who have been denied health care.

***************************
PLEASE CALL REP. TIM JOHNSON!

If you find Rep. Johnson's position to be as preposterous as we do or if you
have ever been denied access to health care, then please call Rep. Johnson
today and tell him your story and tell him you are calling because of the
challenge he issued to John Kenneth Young!

(Also, please be sure to contact us and also tell us your story and let us
know how your call to Rep. Johnson went.)

Rep. Johnson believes that our health care system really isn't all that bad!
He doesn't believe that people actually get denied care if they have health
insurance!  He thinks that the current system of private health insurance is
working just fine for consumers!

Let's give him the reality check that he needs!

Call Rep. Johnson if:
* You (or a loved one) have ever been denied care by a health care provider
because of past medical debt or for any other reason;

* Your insurance has refused to cover a procedure that your doctor has
recommended;

* You have Medicaid but can't get access to the care that you need;

* You have ever been turned away by a hospital or clinic because your health
insurance doesn't cover the medical services you need.

* Even if you haven't been denied care, but want to respond to Rep.
Johnson's challenge and belief that the health care system is working well
for the people of Illinois, call him today!

Our health care system is in CRISIS, and needs REAL health reform NOW!  Rep.
Johnson, and every other member of Congress working on health reform in
Washington, needs to hear from consumers like you who have been directly
impacted by a broken health care system.

See immediately below for contact information for Rep. Johnson and a sample
call script you can use.

Champaign Office - (217) 403-4690

Sample Message:
"Hello, my name is ________, and I am a resident of _[town]_.

I am calling today to tell Representative Johnson that I have been denied
access to health care. Rep. Johnson told John Kenneth Young that he didn't
believe that anyone in the 15th Congressional District has been denied
health care, so I'm calling to let Rep. Johnson know what happened to me.

THEN, BRIEFLY TELL YOUR STORY.

I believe real health reform must include comprehensive benefits for all
health care needs, guarantee access to health care, and must be affordable
for consumers.  The best solution to achieve these goals is a public health
insurance option available to everyone.  Therefore, I am asking
Representative Johnson to support health reform that includes public health
insurance.  Thank you."

******************************
CCHCC'S CAMPAIGN FOR NATIONAL HEALTH REFORM

CCHCC has launched our Campaign for National Health Reform to help local
community members have a voice in national health reform.

Please consider signing up for this Campaign, if you have not already.

This intensive, grassroots, action-oriented campaign will give local
consumers up-to-date information about the development of national health
reform legislation, and ways to take action to make sure that Congress puts
the public's health over private insurance wealth.

For more information about how to take action and join the campaign, click
here:
http://www.healthcareconsumers.org/index.php?action=Display%20Page&id=702

Our top priority right now is to demand that any health reform legislation
MUST include a public health insurance option available to everyone.  When
you call, you can use our sample script to leave a brief message telling
your story of being denied care, but you may choose to leave a more detailed
message in which you demand that Rep. Johnson support a public health
insurance option.  It's up to you, you are the consumer!

PLEASE CALL!
Please take a few minutes to let your voice and your story be heard by Rep.
Johnson.  Join the Campaign for National Health Reform, and help us achieve
REAL health reform NOW!

Also, please contact CCHCC and tell us your story, and let us know how your
call to Rep. Johnson went. We want to hear from you!

Thank you for your support and your involvement!

Sincerely,

Claudia Lennhoff, Executive Director
Champaign County Health Care Consumers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Champaign County Health Care Consumers
44 E. Main Street  Suite 208
Champaign, IL 61820

Phone: (217) 352-6533
Fax:   (217) 352-9745 
E-mail: cchcc at healthcareconsumers.org
Web:    www.healthcareconsumers.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Support health care justice - donate to CCHCC today! Visit our website to make a tax-deductible contribution today. 
http://www.healthcareconsumers.org/index.php?action=Donation
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