FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 17, 2017
CONTACT: Kawana Lloyd, 240-472-2860, kawana@megaphonestrategies.com
“HEAL California” Releases Celebrity PSAs
in Fight for California Medicare for All
Renewed Push Highlights Human Cost of Corporate Healthcare in Advance of
State Assembly Hearings on SB 562, the Healthy California Act
San Francisco, California — Today, HEAL California, a project of the California OneCare Education Fund, officially launched a two month-long, celebrity PSA campaign, “Improved Medicare for All,” to address the human cost of the corporate healthcare industry. The campaign comes less than a week before State Assembly Select Committee Hearings on the “Healthy California Act,” also known as SB 562, and before the start of Open Enrollment beginning November 1.
“California Medicare for All would be reliable and dependable compared to rocky, wasteful corporate health insurance,” says Andrew McGuire, California OneCare Executive Director. “Right now, families lurch from one insurance policy to another, switching doctors and care plans every job and even every year. In addition, the federal government continues attacking core healthcare programs including Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Meanwhile, nearly three million Californians are uninsured and 12 million can’t afford to use their coverage because of high out-of-pocket costs.”
The message of the PSAs is simple: “We can heal California with improved Medicare for All.”
Each week, an informative, heartfelt PSA video will roll out on social media. Featured celebrities include: Adam Arkin, actor; *Ed Asner, actor; Ed Begley, Jr., actor; Sheila Kuehl, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, former state senator; *Rafael Leyva, cinematographer; Lily Tomlin, actor; Dr. Wendy Walsh, radio host; and Scott Wilson, actor. They offer personal perspectives on issues ranging from the human cost of corporate healthcare to open enrollment realities such as high out-of-pocket costs, doctor networks, etc. (Asner and Leyva PSAs will be public on Thursday 10/19/17); Preview links are available for journalists upon request.
In addition, HEAL California is rolling out a one-stop-shop media page with single payer movement-related resources, including studies, polls and access to business leaders, experts in health economics and policy, health equity, insurance, money in politics, patient rights, physician perspectives and more.
“A California Medicare for All system like SB 562, the Healthy California Act, is great for everyone of all ages, from birth onward,” says Kathy Fields Lander, co-chair, California OneCare Entertainment Industry Task Force. “We must promote honest narratives about Medicare for All. It saves lives and money, it’s great for business and it’s politically feasible. It’s the sensible and right thing to do.”
For interviews, contact: Kawana Lloyd, 240-472-2860, kawana@megaphonestrategies.com.
For more info and resources, visit: heal-ca.org
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HEAL California is a news and information hub providing resources, analysis, and commentary on the growing Medicare for All movement in California.