A coalition of residents, civil rights activists, elected leaders and organized labor in Inglewood and surrounding areas held a town hall meeting on universal health care reform Saturday, at
the Holy Faith Episcopal Church. The meeting was held to intensify efforts to build public support for SB 840, which would provide health care coverage for every California resident.
For the past year, supporters of SB 840, have visited more than 300 cities across the state to educate the public about a detailed plan to fix the broken health care system. In recent years, astronomical healthcare costs and mismanagement have been partly responsible for local emergency room closures at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood and Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center in Hawthorne.
"Universal health coverage represents the most fundamental values this country stands for," said Daniel Tabor, Inglewood City Councilman who spoke at the town hall. "No man, woman or child should be denied medical care because of income, place of employment or pre-existing conditions."
Saturday's town hall comes as the 365-city One Care Now campaign has intensified, with elected officials, clergy and community leaders across the state joining the effort. In February, State Senator Sheila Kuehl introduced legislation proposing SB 840, a sweeping health care reform which eliminates for-profit health insurance companies from health care and guarantees medical coverage for all state residents.
On June 6, 2007 the State Senate approved the measure by a vote of 22-14 and now heads to the California State Assembly for passage.
"We have gathered on this day because the time has come for our community to realize the opportunity to get involved in the conversation about solving the problems of our aching health care system," said Mitch Williams, president of the Inglewood/South Bay Branch of the NAACP. "Taxpayers cannot continue to foot the bill for everyone entering an expensive emergency room forever."
Numerous residents packed the parish hall at Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Inglewood including members of the NAACP, block club representatives, neighborhood watch members and State Medical Commissioner Jerome Horton.
The Coalition for a Better Inglewood is a non-partisan forum for the community that focuses on quality of life issues for the community. The coalition works to define a vision of positive action in Inglewood that is responsive to the needs of the community. It was founded in 2002 by Inglewood residents, small businesses, clergy, educators and workers. |
