There's a renewed hope that the U.S. health care system is ready for change, said Julia Deupree, co-head of the New Mexico chapter of the Health Care for America Now! campaign.
The Center for Peace and Justice is hosting a free screening of Michael Moore's film "Sicko" at 7 p.m. today at 202 Harvard Blvd. S.E. to educate people about the organization's efforts and recruit volunteers and support. Afterward, Deupree will talk about a national health care reform campaign.
"The overall message in 'Sicko' is that our health care system is broken," Deupree said. "We are a very powerful country, and there are other countries out there that have better health care systems and require less governmental money to provide better care. So, basically, what we're saying is, 'Look, as a campaign, we're not trying to be Canada or be France or Cuba. We're trying to find a plan that works for us here in the United States.'"
She said the plan is to establish a set of rules by which health care reform should adhere.
"We're not pigeonholing our supporters into agreeing to a specific policy, but rather having these principles that are flexible," she said.
Forty-six states are working on the same campaign. She said she has been working with small businesses over the last three months because they have the hardest time providing health insurance to their employees. There will be an event Feb. 18 for small businesses to speak to their congressional representatives and the media. A dozen have already signed up, including the New Mexico Tea Company, Papers, and Owl Green's Music. Businesses that want to participate can write to Julia@nmhcan.org.
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"We're also looking to get involved with student organizations on campus, because we know that a lot of organizations are working with social justice issues and health care issues, and it would be a great way to collaborate efforts," she said.
Deupree and Clayton Kennedy are the only two people running the state campaign, although they've built a coalition of 55 small businesses, churches, unions and nonprofits, she said. Reps. Martin Heinrich, Harry Teague and Ben Ray Lujan have signed onto the campaign, she said.
"We're only looking for it to grow to basically show Washington, D.C., how much potential there is for health care reform on the ground level," Deupree said. "Sen. Tom Udall is in the process of becoming a supporter. Also, Obama and Vice President Biden have signed onto the campaign, as well."
She said it's not enough that they've signed on; people need to support the campaign actively, she said, in order for change to come.
"We're excited to have three congressional representatives signed on," she said. "That will mean there's solid support from New Mexico within the House of Representatives. Politicians can be supportive of something, but unless their constituents speak to them, they don't know how urgent the need is. By people on the ground level supporting it, we can hold them accountable for signing onto policy that agrees with Health Care For America Now's principles."
