Educate + Engage + Empower = Action

I have always had a deep sense that the power to impact injustice lies within the power to educate, engage, and empower those connected to the injustices. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a monumental national victory for all Americans. It is important to me to use the law’s full name because, when saying “Affordable Care Act,” it is easy to forget that this law doesn’t just tackle issues of affordability, but also addresses the much needed protection for patients from an unjust, discriminatory, and often greed-based system. 

This national victory is one that should be celebrated as the second anniversary rolls around. However, misinformation has quickly tainted the victory party. The need to educate diverse consumers on what has actually been accomplished is key. I find that educating others is most successful when done on a level that directly connects with the audience, which often means omitting complicated language.  It is also successfully done when we get back to the basics of shared human and social values. Shared values-based education is what starts the drumbeat for a movement and sets the pace towards progress. 

In health care justice, we share common values that our health care system should be affordable, accessible, and inclusive, reflecting respect and valuing the integrity of people.  It should be fair, just, accountable, and offer a high standard of quality. While we may not intimately know every section of the law, we can agree on certain things, like the fact that a change needed to happen.  We can agree that young adults should be able to pursue their American dream without worrying about accessing affordable care and that young children should not be turned away from care because they have a pre-existing condition. We can agree that a system that discriminates some cannot be called fair or just.  We can also agree that doing nothing or doing what we’ve always done is not an option that will lead to change. 

By getting back to a values-based way of educating audiences about the Affordable Care Act, we make the necessity to progress health care justice an “us” issue and not a “those people” issue. This idea of “us” means that everyone has locked arms and is moving forward together towards successful implementation.  What we say and how we say it when educating others has to lead back to our shared values. Often, by being in a defensive position, we answer the questions asked without addressing the person asking the question. They are a person connected to a community of people with whom they share information and experiences. They have had negative experiences with the health care system that need to be changed and positive ones that need to be built upon. Education is a powerful tool to bring awareness and support to a cause.

The Affordable Care Act is Saving Lives

As we approach the second anniversary of passage of the Affordable Care Act, I am reminded of the ways in which this legislation has impacted the lives of Nevada’s most vulnerable residents. The ACA has already begun to change the lives of Nevadans in ways that I have fought for since becoming the first person hired to advocate specifically for women and children in the Nevada Legislature in the late 1980’s.For people working as I and my organization have, it is a fitting time to reflect on and to take note of some of these important changes.

Prior to passage of the ACA, Nevada trailed far behind the rest of the country in nearly every health indicator; Nevada ranked at or near the bottom in the number insured adults and children accessing Medicaid or other forms of health coverage. Our state woefully underfunded public health programs and struggled to provide matching funds for Federally-available assistance. In 1995-1997, PLAN sponsored the first HIV/AIDS Awareness Day at the Legislature. It was largely because of these efforts that Nevada finally passed legislation to provide matching funds for programs to aid those too impoverished to afford medication.

PLAN joined the short-lived efforts in the early 1990s to bring about meaningful reform to the nation’s health care delivery system. After that battle and subsequent setback, I wondered if I would see relief for our fellow citizens in my lifetime. Nevada began to fall further behind as the years went by, suffering continued rounds of erosion to our safety net. When President Obama promised to take up the banner of bringing meaningful health reform to all, our state was at an all-time low:  Rates of uninsured and underinsured Nevadans had skyrocketed; health disparities were at their highest levels since data tracking began; and, the state was spending startlingly little on the health care needs of its most vulnerable populations. Because of these horrifying statistics, there was never a question that PLAN would join with the President and allies in Congress to once again take on one of the biggest challenges in our lives—meaningful health reform that would do nothing less than save the lives of millions of Americans and provide for a brighter and healthier future.

Standing Up for Safe Schools & Communities

Earlier today, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, joined Attorney General Eric Holder in Arlington, Texas to deliver keynote remarks at the White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools & Communities.  In speaking before an audience of over 400 teachers, students, parents, community advocates, law enforcement officers and officials, and elected officials, Valerie described the many important steps the Obama Administration has taken to ensure safety and security for all our young people – including LGBT students – in our schools and neighborhoods.

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama, delivers keynote remarks at the White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools and Communities at The University of Texas at Arlington, Tuesday, March 20th, 2012. (Photo courtesy of The University of Texas at Arlington).