J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 7 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9
WRAP-UP REPORT
California
More than 1,000 Californians converged
on House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin
McCarthy's Bakersfield office on Jan. 27 to
demand that Congress back off dismantling
the little healthcare coverage we have, such
as the Affordable Care Act, and instead
protect, improve,
and expand
Medicare for all.
Registered nurs-
es spoke, as did
other healthcare
providers and
activists involved
with the Healthy
California
campaign. One
home healthcare
worker was on the brink of tears as she
talked about her lung cancer from Central
Valley pollution and how she will not survive
to take care of her seven children if her
healthcare is cut.
Maine
on feb. 18, the Maine State Nurses Associa-
tion, the Southern Maine Workers' Center,
and Maine AllCare held a rally and march
calling on Sen. Susan Collins to attend a
healthcare forum where constituents can
directly tell her how they would be hurt by
her plans to replace the Affordable Care Act.
In Augusta, Gov. Paul LePage has proposed
a state budget that will eliminate 25,000
additional people from MaineCare. Maine
nurses are demanding universal, publicly
funded Medicare for all. "Bedside nurses
throughout the state of Maine see first hand
the traffic effects of a healthcare system that
is profit driven," said Andrew Pratt, RN.
"Our healthcare system needs to be patient
centered. We need to have a Medicare-for-
all healthcare system."
—Staff report
From top: Sandy Reding,
RN speaks out at visit
to a GOP leader's office
to protect, improve,
expand Medicare for all;
Maine RN, Andrew Pratt,
addresses the crowd at
a rally to demand
accountability from their
senator on healthcare.
