CAHPSA Lobby Day 2006: LD06 for SB 840
The most significant feature of LD06 was that it actually happened!
What began as a “What if?...” and “Wouldn’t it be cool…” conversation at the
AMSA National Conference in 2005. That initial idea resulted in 125 medical
and pre-med students from 6 campuses who held a raucous rally in support
of Universal Health Care - Single Payer under SB 840 in January 2006 on
the North steps of the CA Capitol Building. They all then ventured inside
the Capitol to hold legislative visits. This
seminal event became the inspiration for the three
more Lobby Days that followed and the annual tradition that still continues.
We Have A Dream!
Co-creators of Lobby Day, medical students Renuka Tipirneni, MS2 of UCSF and Parker Duncan, MS2 of UC Irvine, deliver their speech: "We Have a Dream – Universal Healthcare" to close the Rally.
Read "We Have a Dream" speech here, or:
Download original text of speech: "We Have a Dream -- Universal Healthcare"
Health Policy in Action: Lobbying for Universal Health Care in California
Click image above to open
larger image of Poster Presentation of LD06, or
Download Poster
Presentation of LD06 (Powerpoint Presentation in PPT format)
Created by UCSF School of Medicine Students: Deepa Ravikumar ▪ Michelle
▪ Shuff Tasce Simon ▪ KhanhPhong Trinh
Abstract
Universal Health Care in California is no longer an abstract dream; it is now a concrete possibility. SB840, a proposal for a single-payer plan that has already passed in the Senate, is currently in the California Assembly. If passed, this bill could change the way healthcare is administered not only in California, but also in the entire nation.
A Universal Health Care Symposium and Lobby Day Training was held on January 7, 2006, at UCSF’s Parnassus Campus. The symposium served its purpose of educating students about universal health care, but more importantly, it also gave students a concrete way to effect change in their respective communities. One of the main purposes of the forum was to prepare students for the statewide Lobby Day on January 17, 2006, where medical students from all over California held a rally in Sacramento and directly lobbied to legislative representatives from both the Senate and the Assembly. UCSF’s AMSA chapter was actively involved in planning the rally, scheduling the appointments with representatives, and coordinating the efforts for the fight for universal coverage of all Californians.
As the only developed nation without universal health coverage and with millions of citizens who are uninsured or underinsured, the United States is long overdue for a drastic overhaul of its current healthcare system. As future physicians who have vowed to give the highest quality of care to our patients, we have a duty to ensure that each citizen has adequate access to this care. We must actively fight for Universal Health Care, since it has great potential to enrich the way we will practice medicine.
SB840
The California Health Insurance Reliability Act would:
- Cover all Californians under a single state administered health care program, replacing current state and federal programs (e.g. Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and Military Dependent Care) as well as private insurance (except for services not covered)
- Include inpatient and outpatient care, emergency services, physician services, mental health, substance abuse treatment, eyes glasses and exam, dental care, and preventive health care
- Generally not require deductibles or copayments
- Emphasize the role of the primary care physician, including making referrals to specialists
- Control spending growth to match GDP growth.
Lobby Day
Preparation:
- Voting addresses of medical students were gathered to match students with their legislators.
- Persistence and phone calls were key to making appointments. Legislators’ schedulers were called and followed up with immediately via email.
- Appointments with actual legislators and/or aides were requested.
- Requests for absences were made for participating students. In the future, it is recommended that students work closely with school administrators to gain their support and even elicit their participation.
Schedule
Time Topic and Speaker 10:00 - 11:45 am Sign-in and speaker training on SB840 in Capitol building
John Garamendi, California Insurance Commissioner
Sara Rogers, Legislative Assistant for Senator Sheila Kuehl
Kao-Ping Chua, AMSA Jack Rutledge Fellow
12:00 - 1:00 pm Universal Health Care Rally of steps of Capitol building 1:00 - 4:00 pm Lobby appointments with State Senators and Assembly Members 
Results:
- Attended by 118 medical and pre-medical students from UCSF (23), UC Irvine (62), UC Davis (16), UCLA (12), Touro (2), UC Berkeley (1), Stanford (1) and the American River College (1).
- Each student was scheduled for two appointments, one with the office of a senator and one with the office of an assemblyperson.
- A rally was held on the steps of the Capitol building during which Senator Sheila Kuehl addressed the crowd and much noise about SB840 was made.
- Following Lobby Day, SB840 received at least 2 new co-sponsors.
Goals
- Educate future health care professionals regarding the issues surrounding universal health care
- Engage discussion about universal health care, specifically SB840
- Strengthen the ability of future physicians to enact change at the health policy level through lobbying
- Increase the awareness of and support for SB840 among legislators and their staff members
- Convince California legislators to sign on as co-sponsors of SB840
Symposium
Preparation
- Emails were sent to all UCSF schools, as well as California AMSA chapters, inviting students to attend
- Funding was received through local and national AMSA chapters
- Food donations were received from Trader Joes, Starbucks, Posh Bagels, and the Boulange de Cole
- Resource folders were assembled for attendees
Schedule
Time Topic & Speakers 8:30 - 9:00 am Registration/Continental Breakfast 9:00 - 9:30 am Keynote Address: Kevin Grumbach, MD 9:30 - 9:50 am Overview of the Current System: Michelle Shuff & Khanh Trinh (MS1s) 10:00 - 10:30 am Single Payer 101: Kao-Ping Chua, AMSA JRF Fellow 10:30 - 11:20 am SB840 Basics: David Heller (MS2) 11:30 - 12:30 pm Lobbying Basics: Kao-Ping Chua 12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch 1:30 - 2:20 pm Breakout Session: Countering Arguments Against Single Payer 2:30 - 3:00 pm Recap of Countering Arguments: Kao-Ping Chua 3:00 - 3:30 pm Wrap-up: Kao-Ping Chua
Results:
- Attended by 75 medical, pre-medical, and nursing students representing multiple schools, including UCSF, Touro, and the American River College
- Challenges included scheduling conflicts with other student groups and trying to ensure commitment from potential attendees
Black and white photographs courtesy of Michael Habicht (MS2), Kao-Ping Chua, and KhanhPhong Trinh (MS1)
(Note: CA Senate bill number SB 840 was used from California legislative sessions in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008; it was re-numbered as SB 810 when introduced by Senator Mark Leno in February 2009.)
LD06 Materials
Poster Presentation of LD06 (Download) – created by Khanh Trinh, MS1, UCSF, and displayed at AMSA National Conference, March 2006.
Photo Gallery of Lobby Day 2006