FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 24, 2006
CONTACT: C. Chic Smith
301-443-1592 office / 202-689-4885 cell
Email: csmith@ahrq.gov / Web site: www.citizenshealthcare.gov
NATIONAL DISCUSSION ON HEALTH CARE COMES TO LITTLE ROCK
Citizens' recommendations to be considered by Congress, White House
Washington, D.C. – The Citizens’ Health Care Working Group will host a community dialogue on health care in America in Little Rock, AR., on Saturday, April 29th, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Statehouse Convention Center Ballroom, #1 Statehouse Plaza Little Rock, AR 72201. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested. Registration is available online at www.citizenshealthcare.gov. To register call the Community Health Centers of Arkansas at (501) 374-8225 or toll-free at 1-877-666-CHCA. Onsite registration is also available.
“We need Americans to tell us how they would fix the health care system. We need to hear from the people in Little Rock,’’ said Deborah Stehr, a health care advocate and full-time care giver for her adult son Jonathan, who has cerebral palsy. Stehr, of Lake View, Iowa, is a member of the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group.
The community meetings feature a multimedia presentation that provides information on the nation’s health care system followed by moderated discussion of what health care services should be provided, how they should be delivered and financed, and trade-offs Americans are willing to make to improve the system. In addition, community members are encouraged to share their opinions and views by using the Public Comment Center, Citizens’ Blog and Discussion Forums at www.citizenshealthcare.gov.
This community meeting is one of three dozen taking place throughout the nation. At the conclusion of the community meetings, the Working Group will develop recommendations which the President will review and on which five Congressional Committees will hold hearings.
The Working Group, a nonpartisan group authorized by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, is charged with listening to the views of the American people and developing recommendations for the President and Congress to provide U.S. citizens with “Health Care that Works for All Americans.” The Health Report to the American People was released in October and serves as a basis to engage the American people in a dialogue on health care access, cost and quality issues. The Working Group consists of 15 members -- 14 citizens of diverse backgrounds from across the country, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
###