CPEHN staff were tremendously saddened yesterday to learn of Brandon Harrison’s death. Last year, Brandon served as one of our powerful speakers at the Youth Leaders Plenary during CPEHN’s biennial conference. Kimberly Chen, CPEHN’s Government Affairs Manager, had the unique privilege of facilitating that conversation. Kim writes:

Brandon Harrison was one of several promising youth leaders I got to interview at last year’s CPEHN conference in Los Angeles. Brandon talked about the important work he was doing collecting data about youth homicides in Stockton and his work challenging policymakers including the Chief of Probation to adopt more restorative justice policies. He captivated the stage with charm and candor.

From the way he took control of the microphone to his fresh suit complete with a purple bowtie, Brandon had a mission and purpose – to share his story—and made sure we heard him. He was reflective about the cards stacked against him, yet insightful about the role he hoped to play as a leader for his community.

In July, Covered California announced proposed 2018 rates for the individual market.  The proposed rates included a statewide average rate change of 12.5 percent, as well as the potential for a separate surcharge related to the lack of federal funding for cost-sharing reductions (CSRs).  The surcharge averages an additional 12.4 percent on Silver products, with a range of 8 to 27 percent across carriers. 

As noted in previous emails, Covered California delayed the announcement of final rates pending ongoing federal policy discussions and the potential for Congressional action to fund CSRs.  However, today Covered California announced final rates for the 2018 plan year, and in the absence of a federal commitment to continue funding CSRs, Covered California plans will include the CSR surcharge on Silver-tier products for the upcoming year.  Attached is a press release with more information about today’s announcement.

With this announcement are some important items to note:

We at CPEHN, condemn the violence that was committed last weekend by white supremacists and neo-Nazis. This year has been deeply troubling as white supremacy and hate-based violence has been on the rise. We mourned in February when Srinivas Kuchibhotla was murdered in Olathe after racist epithets were hurled at him and we were shocked once again when Ricky John Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche were killed in Portland after intervening when anti-Muslim remarks were being yelled at two Muslim women. As a nation, we continue to feel the wounds of overt and institutional racism and its impacts on the health of our communities.

Over 25 years ago, CPEHN’s founders came together to create a unified voice for communities of color amid challenging times and potential opportunities. While we as a state and nation have made important strides towards improving systems and dedicating resources to heal our communities, it’s events like those in Charlottesville, Olathe, and Portland that again and again reminded us of the forces that seek to create barriers and harm communities of color, LGBTQ+, immigrants, and other marginalized communities. In these times, we need strong leadership to stand up and speak out against white supremacy and hate. And we have experienced that time and again. Even though the President of the United States demonstrates a stunning endorsement of racism through a lack of condemnation of these events, ordinary people across the country have taken a stand and continue to show us hope. The people in Charlottesville who had the courage to peacefully demonstrate against white nationalism in the face of violence provide us with great inspiration, and we particularly honor Heather Heyer for her bravery.
 

The failure of Trumpcare for the second time in a row, shows the GOP’s health care overhaul is deeply flawed and cannot be fixed. The Senate GOP plan, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), would have caused 4 million Californians, a majority from communities of color to lose their health care coverage. Additionally, the bill would have destabilized the insurance market and cost the state thousands of good paying jobs.

Despite this, California’s Republican Congressional delegation voted for an earlier version of this mean-spirited bill drafted in a closed door, partisan process with no hearings and virtually no input from the people most affected. 

Unfortunately President Trump and Senate leader Mitch McConnell are pushing to repeal the Affordable Care Act now and replace it later resulting in as many as 32 million Americans losing coverage. This plan too would be devastating for California and create havoc for the whole health care system.

Rather than repeating the same failed, closed door, partisan process, we call on California Republican Congressional representatives to set Medicaid aside, cease efforts to repeal and replace the ACA and work with Democratic leaders to identify a plan that actually improves the current health care system by reducing costs, ensuring long-term stability to the insurance market and creating greater access to quality care for all Californians including immigrant communities.

It’s time to make the Affordable Care Act work for everyone – with better care, for more people, at a lower price.

What happened?