"We're holding this town hall to organize our community and let Speaker Rendon know that his job is to represent the most vulnerable in our community not the insurance industry"

The campaign for the Healthy California Act is inviting area residents to a community town hall meeting in Lakewood, Calif. on Saturday, July 8, to learn about SB 562, a bill introduced in the California Senate in February that would guarantee health care to all California residents by establishing a Medicare-for-all type system in the state.

Simultaneous English/Spanish translation services will be provided on headphones for town hall participants.

The forum will feature presentations by Michael Lighty, Public Policy Director for the California Nurses Association, Dr. Bill Honigman, emergency room physician, Fong Chuu, an RN on the transplant team at UCLA Medical Center and a California Nurses Association board member, Marcia Martin, community activist, and Leticia Vasquez, Central Basin Municipal Water Board member and former Lynwood Mayor. Martin and Vasquez are both Assembly District delegates to the California Democratic Party representing the 63rd Assembly District.

"We're holding this town hall to organize our community and let Speaker Rendon know that his job is to represent the most vulnerable in our community not the insurance industry," said local activist Marcia Martin, one of the town hall presenters. "The constituents in Rendon's district are already suffering disproportionately from illnesses caused by environmental racism, including developmental delays in children living in the Exide Technologies contamination area. We want Rendon to show bold leadership and move SB 562 forward." 

What: Town Hall Meeting on SB 562, the Healthy California Act
When: Saturday July 8, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Where: Mayfair Activities Room-Mayfair Park, 5720 Clark Ave. Lakewood, Ca.  

"The upcoming town hall is an opportunity to learn about what single payer health care is and what it can mean to our families," said educator and activist, Letica Vasquez, who will present on Saturday. "Many of our health outcomes in Los Angeles County are not very good.  We have high incidences of diabetes, and we come in last in California in preventable hospital stays – and those are a direct result of people not being able to afford medical treatment," said CNA boardmember Fong Chuu, an RN at UCLA Medical Center and a presenter at the town hall.  "Speaker Rendon must stop sitting on this life-saving bill and let the democratic process move forward for the sake of all Californians."

The forum is co-sponsored by California Alliance for Retired Persons, Progressive Democrats of America, the California Nurses Association, the primary sponsor of SB 562 and the Healthy California campaign, which is comprised of 350 organizations representing six million Californians.

The Healthy California Act, SB 562 passed the full Senate last month and was set for consideration in the Assembly in late June when Speaker Anthony Rendon abruptly refused to let it out of the Rules Committee. Since then supporters have redoubled their efforts organizing support for the bill on the grassroots level, conducting door-to-door canvassing in various Assembly districts, including the 63rd, which Rendon is supposed to represent, and holding several lively protests at the state capitol building in Sacramento.  

The California Nurses Association sponsored a recent study by expert economists at University of Massachusetts Amherst on how to pay for SB 562—revealing that enacting the bill would save Californians $37 billion off our current cost for healthcare.

For more information: www.healthycaliforniaact.org