Health Care Reform & Health Equity

Health Reform Implementation

• With your help we passed the federal health care bill in 2009 and critical consumer protections have already ended some of the worst insurance company abuses. But now it is up to us to take the next steps in implementing the law to make sure everyone has health insurance.

• We need your help to strengthen and pass the RI Health Benefit Exchange Act. This bill creates a board of health care experts and representatives of the community, who are responsible for setting up a transparent, organized marketplace for Rhode Islanders to purchase high quality, affordable health insurance.

• The federal law only requires that we let individuals who can't get insurance through an employer, and small businesses buy health insurance through the exchange. We know that the exchange needs to include as many Rhode Islanders as possible, so that we can use our collective purchasing power to stop skyrocketing health care costs AND ensure that all Rhode Islanders receive top quality care.

• We always want to hear about individuals' and small businesses' experiences with health insurance, as well as stories from Rhode Islanders who have benefited from the health reform law!

Health Equity

• Countless factors affect our health besides health care—the quality of air we breathe, access to good paying jobs, decent housing, the quality of our children's education, and the availability of healthy foods.

• We are working with the Transcultural Community Health Initiative to create the Commission for Health Advocacy and Equity. This commission would work to integrate state government–so we are considering our state's policies on housing, transportation, education, environment, community development, and labor systems, when trying to address our state's health disparities.

• We need a comprehensive approach to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.