The League of Women Voters of California’s Healthcare Working Group’s October meeting featured a wide range of topics. First on the agenda was approving the Healthcare Working Group’s official mission statement, which the group had been perfecting over the last several meetings. 

After discussing the proposed mission statement, it was approved without objections. Though there had been a few tweaks in the exact wording over the last few weeks, the language and message largely remained the same. The mission statement for the Healthcare Working Group is, “By educating ourselves, LWVC members, and the public, we will increase understanding of health care issues. Through public policy advocacy, guided by the LWVUS position on Health Care, we will strive to achieve an equitable, affordable, high-quality health care system that is available to all. 

“Approving the mission statement was a huge step forward. It allows the group to start working on specific goals and really start to make an impact,”one attendee said.

 With the approval of the Healthcare Working Group’s mission statement, the next important thing was to explore the list of potential goals that the group could start working on. Representatives from the League of Women Voters of California discussed the need for volunteers to work as legislative analysts for the upcoming legislative session. Leader of LWVBAE’s Healthcare Team and member of the statewide Healthcare Working Group, Hank Abrons, is looking forward to the future of the group.

 “The group provides  a meeting space where healthcare committees and interested individuals gather monthly to promote the development of wider education and advocacy in California’s 66 local Leagues and their communities,”Abrons said.

 The working group is starting to meet in small groups to work on some of the goals that had been outlined during previous meetings. The goals include the following: focusing on behavioral/mental health, developing a tool kit of resources on healthcare for League members, analyzing healthcare needs of rural communities, and learning more about inequities in America’s healthcare system. Members then chose which goal they wanted to focus on, and will begin working in small groups soon.

–Frances Lebowitz

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