Essay About Health Care Action Task Force And Inadequate Health Care

Public Policy Analysis for Not-For-ProfitsEssay Preview: Public Policy Analysis for Not-For-ProfitsReport this essayHealth Care Action Task ForceJobs with JusticeA. MissionJobs with Justice (JwJ) is a coalition of 75 local labor, community, student, and religious groups organized to win concrete victories on the road to achieving economic justice and lasting social change. We engage working people in addressing the root causes of poverty, organizing support for workers treated unjustly and/or illegally in the workplace and in organizing an economic base that respects the dignity of the entire community. St. Louis JwJ is part of the Jobs with Justice national network, which was founded in 1987. Local Jobs with Justice coalitions are one of few contemporary examples of permanent multi-issue coalitions empowering those in need to create a community with no place for hunger, homelessness, inadequate health care, unemployment, or discrimination.

B. Mission and Objectives as They Relate to the MFH MissionWe ask the Missouri Foundation for Health to partner with us in our organizing the St. Louis Jobs with Justice Health Care Action Task Force. We are creating a history of shared victories that both incrementally increase health care access and strategically develop collaborations among a broad range of allies that will eventually tip the balance toward health care reform that improves access for the un- and under-insured. As we select specific campaigns, our strategy is to prioritize advocacy for health policy that 1) defends and strengthens employer-based insurance for the working poor and 2) defends and strengthens safety net health care systems on which uninsured families depend. As our objectives clearly demonstrate, we share the MFH commitment to promoting positive health policy changes to achieve quality health care access for Missouris working poor.

C. Target PopulationWe believe that Missouris workers are a key constituency to engage in health care reform in our community. A 2004 Families USA report showed that over ј of Missourians (1.354 million) went without health insurance for some period in 2002-2003. Of that number, nearly 83% were from working families. The problem of the uninsured is increasingly a workers issue, and St. Louis JwJ is uniquely positioned to engage this constituency through their workplace and community organizations. Health care workers deserve special emphasis as they are on the front lines of our health care system every day. Their first-hand stories do more to move citizens to support improving health care access than any chart or statistic we might provide.

D. Priority Health-Related ObjectivesSt. Louis Jobs with Justice and its Health Care Action Task Force will continue to build an organized voice both of and for the un- and under-insured which aims to identify and reduce financial barriers to health care access. We will ensure that our Task Force leaders, both consumers and caregivers, are able to impact public debate on health care access by investing in their capacity through various levels of training and by ensuring they are networked with other health care advocates in Missouri and nationally. These leaders are supported by the JwJ mobilization base which puts political muscle behind its activities. The task force leaders will both draw upon and build this mobilization base, ensuring their work will continue to have a measurable impact on health care policy. To that end, St. Louis Jobs with Justice is committed to prioritizing the following specific objectives.

Identifying and developing health care consumer and caregiver leaders organized through the Jobs with Justice Health Care Action Task ForceIncreasing frontline participation, by consumers and caregivers, in the public debate on health care policy issues in an effort to address health care gaps and promote positive health policy

Building a more powerful base ready to take action on health care policy issues by increasing both the number and diversity of people committed to the JwJ Mobilization Network

E. Recent ActivitiesJobs with Justice began its involvement with health care access in June 2002 at our Workers Rights Board Hearing, “St. Louis Confronts the Recession.” We brought faith leaders, legislators, the press and public together to witness testimony on how our sluggish local economy has affected area workers and citizens. We heard from dozens of community members directly affected by the recession and one theme emerged clearly above any other–health care. Bringing these directly affected citizens and their organizations together that day, we identified a common and critical interest for our particular network to continue activities around bringing down barriers to health care access. More recent activities

Our team was invited to engage and gather support to help us put this issue to rest. In addition, we held and facilitated an event at which we addressed the broader health-care issue in the Greater Saint Louis Area. The role did not stop there. As the St. Louis Times reported, other businesses, elected officials and labor leaders spoke in support of our efforts; our employees and contractors were represented throughout; workers held a “working group of six” to discuss how to move our business out of poverty.―Workers Rights: What was your response to this action?

In support of our efforts, we called on all of the organizations and individuals involved to be involved in these and other significant events of the health care crisis. Our focus was to take action to make sure that the health care system is growing more than ever before: We’ve seen health care get much worse; more than 90% of our workers in the St. Louis area have an income lower than 5th-graders; we are losing many of our most vital workers, patients and the families that rely on them; we’re facing deep financial and economic challenges; our health care system is in shambles and needs further work; and more than 700,000 more Americans live below the poverty line now. We want to start with what you’ve just quoted: Achieving Affordable Care Act, not being afraid to make tough choices, by investing in infrastructure and skills that help the poorest and most economically able in our community. Your participation in our campaign will allow us to focus other communities toward moving this issue forward.