FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 24, 2006
CONTACT:
Yancy Deering or Laura Allgeyer
513-564-0700
C. Chic Smith
301-443-1592 office / 202-689-4885 cell
Web site: www.citizenshealthcare.gov
CINCINNATI HEALTH CARE COMMUNITY MEETING SEEKS INSIGHTS FROM REGION’S RESIDENTS ON CREATING SYSTEM THAT WORKS
National dialogue makes local stop April 29 and urges citizens to speak out
Cincinnati, OH, April 24, 2006 Greater Cincinnati residents will have an opportunity to tackle national policy reform on something that affects all of us: health care.
The Citizens’ Health Care Working Group is conducting community meetings across the country to allow ordinary citizens the chance to offer their views on how to reshape the health care system in America. One of the largest such meetings is planned for April 29 at the Cinergy Center. The Working Group hopes several hundred people from Cincinnati and the surrounding communities will invest a few hours of their day in this meeting to make their opinions known. The Working Group will share recommendations arising from this dialogue with Congress later this year. Federal law requires five committees of Congress to hold hearings on the recommendations.
“Access to high-quality, affordable health care is an issue every American faces,” said Randy Johnson, chairman of the Working Group and longtime human resources professional at Motorola. “These community meetings take the health care debate out of Washington and bring it to ordinary citizens; the people who use the system…people who actually provide care for people, people who have health care coverage and those who don’t, people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, and people who are leaders as well as people whose voices are rarely heard.”
The focus of the discussion in Greater Cincinnati will be similar to discussions hosted by the Working Group in other cities:
- What health care benefits and services should be provided?
- How does the American public want health care delivered?
- How should health care coverage be financed?
- What trade-offs are the American public willing to make in either benefits or financing to ensure access to affordable, high-quality health care coverage and services?
At the Greater Cincinnati meeting, participants will engage in small-group
discussions of about 10 people led by a facilitator and will vote anonymously
using electronic keypads on key themes that arise from across the small
group discussions.
Parking, continental breakfast, lunch and beverages will be provided
free of charge to all participants. Child care also will be available,
as will free bus transportation to and from Cinergy Center from convenient
locations throughout the region.
Space is limited and advance registration is highly recommended. Residents may register online at www.citizenshealthcare.gov/register or by phone at 866-324-7949.
“We need insights and ideas from citizens of every background,” Johnson said. “ We’re confident that the feedback from this region, combined with the comments of people in more than 35 other cities, will help us develop strong, practical, achievable recommendations on ways to provide affordable, quality health care for every American.”
About the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group
The Citizens’ Health Care Working Group, a nonpartisan, independent body whose members were selected by the Comptroller General of the United States, 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 Group’s Health Report to the American People, found at the Working Group's official Web site, www.citizenshealthcare.gov, 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. See the Web site for additional information about the Working Group and its activities. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality provides administrative support as directed by the Medicare Modernization Act.
###