GET INVOLVED
Interested in getting involved?
Below you will find the links to our Volunteer needs, current advocacy issues and our Calendar of Events. If you have something you would like added to our Calendar, please contact Mary Schmitz
Volunteers
Current Advocacy Issues
Calendar of Events
General Assistance Medical Care:
January 14: Yesterday the MN State Senate held hearings on funding for GAMC. Check out coverage-including reporting on Duluthians who face losing their health care.
December 28: Minnesota Public Radio on the potential costs of losing GAMC.
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ACTION ALERT December 7th, 2009 |
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| Make Two Calls TODAY to Save General Assistance Medical Care! |
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On December 7th Minnesotans across the state will be calling their State Legislators to demonstrate their support for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). Please join us! Tell your State Representative that you are concerned about the elimination of funding for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). Let them know you're willing to pay increased taxes to ensure health care coverage for low-income Minnesotans. To find your Representative: Call (651) 296-2146 or visit: www.gis.leg.mn/mapserver/districts/. Duluth area: Local Representatives Tom Huntley, District 7A rep.thomas.huntley@house.mn 651-296-2228 Roger Reinert, District 7B rep.roger.reinert@house.mn 651-296-4246 Mary Murphy, District 6B rep.mary.murphy@house.mn 651-296-2676 David Dill, District 6A rep.david.dill@house.mn 651-296-2190 Thank Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher for her past support of GAMC, and tell her you're willing to pay more taxes to save GAMC. To contact Speaker Kelliher: Call (651) 296-0171 or email rep.margaret.kelliher@house.mn.
Together, we can save GAMC - but we need you to act today! |
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What is GAMC? |
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General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) is Minnesota's health care program for extremely low-income single adults. In a single year, 80,000 Minnesotans enroll in GAMC - with 35,000 being on the program at any given time. Department of Human Services Commissioner Cal Ludeman has described enrollees of GAMC as the "the poorest of the poor and the sickest of the sick". On March 1st, all funding for General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) will be eliminated. Hospitals across the state are bracing to lose well over $100 million per year in uncompensated care, hundreds of health care workers will lose their jobs, some counties have already discussed the need to increase property taxes to brace for the impact, and costs will be shifted to private insurance holders. Minnesota has invested in GAMC for the past 35 years. Eliminating this program will hurt our communities and put already vulnerable people at risk. An economic downturn is not the time to pull the plug on this critical safety net program. |
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SAVE THE DATE! February 4th |
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Please mark February 4th on your calendars! The 4th is the first day of the legislative session and we want to make sure that the House of Representatives knows how important the reinstatement of GAMC is to our community! Join us for a gathering at the capitol. More details to come... |
ACTION ALERT!
November 11, 2009
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Many of you accepted the call to action regarding cuts to General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) and have made this a pressing issue for our representatives. The influence we have is great, but we need
to continue this work as thousands of Minnesota's poorest and most vulnerable are still at risk of losing their insurance coverage. On Friday, of last week, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) issued a POLITICAL SOLUTION to the problem, not one that will truly help those at risk of losing their insurance. PLEASE continue to use your voice on this issue. There is a lot of energy around these cuts to GAMC. Let's keep up the good
work! |
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On Friday, the Pawlenty Administration announced that people enrolled in GAMC on March 1, 2010 will be automatically transitioned to MinnesotaCare by Minnesota's Department of Human
Services. See the details of their plan on DHS' website.
While we applaud this step in the right direction, we know there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Some of the missing pieces of the proposed fix:
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GAMC Duluth: CHUM Listening Session 10-15-09
All of us are affected – directly or indirectly- by cuts to General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). Late in the 2009 legislative session, Governor Pawlenty used his line-item veto authority to fully eliminate the General Assistance Medical Care program on March 1, 2010. The House of Representatives was unable to override that veto. The videos below show how this will affect Duluthians!
The Reality of How GAMC Affects Lives!
Click here for more information about GAMC.
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