Advocacy

ACU's mission is two-fold: to improve the health of underserved communities and to develop and support those clinicians who choose to serve them.

ACU members — clinicians in practice, students, advocates, and academicians, as well as health care clinics, health departments, national, regional, and state primary care organizations, and professional societies — are on the front lines in delivering health care to America's underserved, vulnerable communities. We serve individuals who typically have little or no other access to health care services. They are among the approximately 46 million people in this country (one in five) without health insurance. They may speak little or no English. Often they lack access to pharmaceuticals, mental health, oral care and complementary and alternative medicine. Our members are also involved in health policy — working to establish a more equitable health care system.

Throughout the year, ACU will be expanding its advocacy efforts to make our health care system more inclusive, more responsive, and more accessible to all residents of the United States. ACU welcomes its members to be involved in advocacy work. To learn more, please email Christine Dang-Vu. 

What's New

New England Medical Journal: Physicians' Views on a New Public Insurance Option and Expanded Medicare Coverage

Physician groups and societies often have clear, well-known views on health reform, therefore, the views of physicians in general are not always understood. This article describes a national survey of physicians' views regarding health reform, showing a majority of physicians (62.9%) supported public and private plans.

New Study Finds 45,000 Deaths Linked to Lack of Health Coverage

Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance recently published a study in the American Journal of Public Health determining that approximately 45,000 deaths can be associated with lack of health coverage. Furthermore, uninsured, working Americans have a 40% higher death risk than their insured counterparts.

The Uninsured: Rates By State And Congressional District

An interactive map on the National Public Radio Web site shows which states and congressional districts have the highest number of uninsured people. Read the story, "Who's Representing the Uninsured on Capitol Hill," view the map, or listen to audio online.

Show Your Support: Get Your Lawn Signs

HCAN lawn signDonate $10, and receive a 'Health Insurance Reform Now' lawn sign to display from HealthCare for America Now (HCAN). HCAN member organizations - like ACU - can receive up to 100 signs delivered to your group. Signs are limited, so order today.

California Pediatrician Speaks Out

Dr. Ricky Choi of Asian Health Services, a comprehensive community health center located in the health of Oakland’s Chinatown, attended Rep. Jackie Speier’s (D-CA) town hall meeting on health care reform. He asked if she would commit to a public plan option; she responded that she could not. Undaunted, more

Washington Update - Sept. 21, 2009

By Christine Dang-Vu 
The journal Health Affairs recently hosted a briefing to introduce its September/October issue, Bending the Cost Curve, with many of the contributing authors discussing their findings. Of note to ACU members, Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution and Paul Ginsberg of the Center for Studying Health System Change asserted the importance of coordinating transdisciplinary health care in order to ensure quality and reduce costs.

Ginsberg said, “To lower spending without lowering net welfare, it is necessary to organize the delivery of care to promote efficient cooperation among the many providers and practitioners involved in delivering treatment ….”  Harold Miller of the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement and the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform advocated for a comprehensive care payment system in which providers would receive a  single payment for all care needed by a patient during the course of the year. View the complete table of contents and abstracts online for free; full text articles are available for a fee.