...The Senate's attempt to restructure health care policy will, among other things, wipe out Medicaid expansion, which helps to cover nearly half of our children and makes rural health possible.

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Six months after a fall assembly in which hundreds of AMOS leaders pressured state legislators to restore mental health funding, leaders persisted in their quest -- writing an OpEd and testifying before the legislature.

"This isn't just a tax issue. This is an issue of life or death," testified Travis Stanley, pastor of Norwalk Christian Church and leader with AMOS. AMOS criticizes a state law capping the amount counties can collect for such services to the amount they collected in 1996, regardless of whether the county grew since then. "Keeping the cap at 1996 levels — when I was 16 — has killed people. People have lost their lives because of this," he said.

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By unanimous vote, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors finally agreed to fund a healthcare pilot project for undocumented residents, put forth by leaders of Communities Organized for (relational) Power in Action (COPA).

$500 thousand has been allocated to pay for lab tests, radiology and pharmacy services -- things generally unaffordable for residents concentrated in the agriculture or hospitality industry. The purpose is to prevent future visits to the county hospital's emergency room. The Episcopal Diocese estimates that between 1,200 and 2,000 uninsured undocumented county residents will be eligible for the program. According to Canon Jesus Reyes:

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COPA leaders' impassioned case for county funding of health services for uninsured, undocumented children appeared not to fall on deaf ears at a meeting of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. The County Health Department director followed up with a request that the Board budget $500 thousand for a pilot project to make low-price prescription drugs and other specialty services available such children.

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When a healthcare program for undocumented children they had created was threatened by Santa Cruz County budget cuts, COPA leaders did not stand idly by. They quickly mobilized supporters from Catholic, Jewish, Methodist and other nonprofit partners to persuade the Board of Supervisors and healthcare provides to fund the effort. And they succeeded.

United Way of Santa Cruz County recognized the organization's efforts (and its collaboration with Community Foundation and 1st 5 nonprofits) with an "Advocacy Award" for COPA leadership (pictured above).

Though no public comments were included in the Val Verde Medical Center District Board's agenda, The Border Organization leaders were called up to deliver scathing remarks to District decision makers. Said Ms. Queta Quinonez, "The Val Regional Medical Center is a public hospital.... the hospital employs a law firm in Del Rio to collect delinquent bills.... Your lawyers may wear fancy, expensive suits, but they are no better than back-alley henchmen."

Read the full comments below:

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When Santa Cruz County threatened to cut a program that insures just under 1,000 unauthorized children, COPA leaders swung into action, organizing a public action with County Supervisors and testifying at budget hearings to secure $300K in funding, in collaboration with United Way, First 5 and Community Foundation. Leaders additionally secured commitments from Monterey County Supervisors to expand coverage for unauthorized residents and publicize expanded services in Spanish.

Plan to Save Santa Cruz County's Healthy Kids in Place, Santa Cruz Sentinel

"After thanking board of supervisors members for their commitment to support heath care for Los Angeles County's poor, Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John's Well Child and Family Center, asked the people who came with him to the May 20 public meeting "to support health care for all" to stand up.

Hundreds upon hundreds of "women and men from across the county rose — cheering, clapping, shouting and raising their hands high in the air. The grass-roots commotion went on for almost a minute."

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Testifying before the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, COPA leader Elsa Quezada called for a County strategy to educate undocumented and uninsured Monterey residents about newly available healthcare services. "They are our neighbors, our friends, they go to church with us, they join us at the park, the rodeo...their children go to school with our children," she argued.

At COPA's urging, the Board approved the creation of a strategic plan and simplified "access point document" to better spread the word about healthcare access to the uninsured; both are to be produced within 90 days.

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After identifying $11 million in otherwise sunsetting County funds, One LA-IAF leaders testified to the Board of Supervisors about their year long enrollment effort and the the gaps that remain even after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act -- gaps that will have serious consequences for families throughout the county.

They demanded that the $11M be used to help cover the remaining uninsured in LA County. After the press conference, Rabbi Dara Frimmer asserted that she was "proud to stand with OneLA leaders outside the county supervisors meeting because as of today, 1 million residents of LA remain uninsured...Time to ensure that the image of God, imprinted on the face of every human being, is lifted up."

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