FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2006
CONTACT: C. Chic Smith
301-443-1592 office / 202-689-4885 cell
Email: csmith@ahrq.gov / Web site: www.citizenshealthcare.gov
LAS VEGAS JOINS NATIONAL HEALTH CARE DISCUSSION
Citizens' recommendations to be considered by Congress, White House
Washington, D.C. – Residents of the Las Vegas area will participate in a dialogue on health care in America presented by the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group. The community meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 11, 2006, from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm, Nevada Partners, 710 W. Lake Mead Blvd., North Las Vegas, NV 89030. The meeting is free and open to the public, but registration is requested. Registration is available at www.citizenshealthcare.gov.
"I'm delighted that Clark County is co-hosting this community forum in Las Vegas," said Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates. "I'm encouraging our citizens to attend and take advantage of this great opportunity to share their input on health care and be a part of its change."
The community meeting will feature a multimedia presentation that provides information on the nation’s health care system including problems related to cost, quality, and access to care. This will be followed by more focused discussions in small groups. Participants will share their ideas about how to improve the health care system.
Community members, especially those unable to come to the meeting are urged to take advantage of several important online features designed to overcome physical and practical barriers to citizen participation. The Public Comment Center, Citizens’ Blogs, and Discussion Forums, are found at www.citizenshealthcare.gov. They are all ways to enable a more inclusive public comment and debate so that citizens can share their opinions with one another and make their views known to the Working Group in order to strengthen the recommendations provided to the President and Congress.
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.
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