(New York, NY) – New York grassroots groups will gather on Monday, June 18th for a messaging training event in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), likely to be out the week of June 25th. Whatever the decision, a coalition is preparing to call on Governor Cuomo to move forward on health care reform in New York State.

Monday’s event, organized by Greater NYC for Change, Democracy for NYC, Tribeca for Change, and Downtown East for Obama, with several hundred members each, is called “Shaking the Magic 8 Ball on Health Care Reform,” led by Tim Foley, the Political Director of the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare and the policy director for Greater NYC for Change.

“The event will help people explain the Affordable Care Act to voters, even if you haven’t read all 900 pages,” said Tim Foley.

The Affordable Care Act provides comprehensive reforms necessary to improve the ailing health care system. There are currently 2.8 million New Yorkers with no health insurance, and countless others with inadequate coverage. Yet, since passage of the health reform law in March 2010, millions of New Yorkers have already utilized many of the provisions of the new law to find relief from the ever-escalating cost of health care.

“As advocates, we need to be proactively reminding our fellow New Yorkers about why we fought so hard for so long for health care reform, what could happen in the months ahead, and why it’s more important than ever to share the story of the many ways that reform has already benefited people across the country,” Tim Foley explains.

“Think about a world in which children can no longer be insured through their parents until the age of 26, in which women lack affordable access to necessary preventive care like mammograms and cervical cancer screenings, and insurance plans can drop patients from coverage when they most need it—when they become critically ill. Advocates must prepare how to respond to the need for quality, affordable health care for all in the face of an uncertain future—no matter what happens in the Supreme Court,” says Naomi Rothwell, Greater NYC for Change, one of the organizers of the event.

WHO: Grassroots groups including Greater NYC for Change, Democracy for New York
City, Tribeca for Change and Downtown East for Obama

WHAT: “SHAKING THE MAGIC 8 BALL ON HEALTH CARE REFORM — MESSAGING WORKSHOP”

WHEN: Monday, June 18,  7 PM – 9 PM (doors open 6:30 PM)

WHERE: The Murphy Institute, CUNY / 25 West 43rd Street, 19th Floor

Open to all.