Please help publicize this meeting next Wednesday at South Junior
High, Morgantown, WV at 7 p.m. that West Virginian's for Affordable Health Care is
sponsoring with help from some local Morgantown people.

>>
>> MEDIA ADVISORY
>>
>> April 24, 2007
>> For more information: Perry Bryant 344-1673, or
>>       Barbara Fleischauer 296-7035 or
>> [log in to unmask] 
>>
>> "My job has no health insurance at all. My wages are $5.25 an hour so I
>> cannot afford to see any doctor. I have to go to the ER often, and
>> sometimes I*m admitted to the hospital. I have no ability to pay the
>> hospital bills,* stated Joe a Morgantown resident.
>>
>> *Joe isn*t alone,* said Del. Barbara Fleischauer (D-Monongalia).
>> *More and more West Virginians are having a difficult time with health
>> insurance. Fewer and fewer employers can afford health insurance for
>> their employees, and those with insurance are typically paying more for
>> less coverage.*
>>
>> A town meeting on health care reform will be held on Wednesday, May 2
>> at 7 p.m. at Morgantown South Junior High School. During the meeting,
>> Perry Bryant, Executive Director of West Virginians for Affordable
>> Health Care (WVAHC), will present WVAHC*s Blueprint for Reform. Kevin
>> Outterson, a member of the state*s Pharmaceutical Cost Management
>> Council, will speak on pharmaceutical cost, and Laura Jones, Director of
>> the Milan Puskar Health Right, will facilitate public discussion
>> following the presentations.
>>
>> Town meeting sponsors include the WVU Extension Service, the
>> Mon-Preston County Labor Council and West Virginians for Affordable
>> Health Care.
>>
>> The number of uninsured West Virginians is growing faster in West
>> Virginia than the rest of the country according to Senator Jon Hunter,
>> (D-Monongalia).
>>
>> *From 2004 to 2005, the latest statistics available from the Census
>> Bureau, the number of uninsured Americans grew by three percent, while
>> the number of uninsured West Virginians grew by 11 percent,* Hunter
>> said.
>>
>> *In one year, there were an additional 32,000 uninsured West
>> Virginians. That*s the equivalent of virtually everyone in Morgantown
>> and Grafton losing health insurance within one-year. Clearly, the
>> Legislature must address this issue,* Hunter said.
>>
>>  *The Blueprint for Reform was developed through a grant from the
>> Benedum Foundation. It combines cost containment measures, which are
>> essential to preserve health care coverage for those with insurance,
>> while also extending insurance to the uninsured,* said Bryant.
>>
>> *States have become the incubators of health care reform ideas.
>> Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts have all adopted comprehensive health
>> care reform, and Pennsylvania and California are considering major
>> reforms. It*s time that West Virginia joins this list,* stated
>> Bryant.
>>
>> *If West Virginia is going to consider comprehensive health care
>> reform during the 2008 legislative session, it*s important that
>> citizens offer input into this process,* Jones said. *Come, listen
>> to proposals and let us know what you think.*
>>
>> To learn more about WVAHC*s reform proposal, visit their web site at
>> www.wvahc.org .