MLK Jr. Day of Service

So what are you doing on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service? If you have the day off, hopefully you have plans for how you are going to donate your time to make a difference today. If you don’t, check out your local paper and see how you can get plugged in.

Many of us are working but that doesn’t mean that we still can’t do something that will make our communities, state and nation better places. Put some creative thought into it.

As for me, I’m driving to Greenville (S C) to meet with the Greenville News editorial board to talk about why it is important that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) be successfully implemented. Sue Berkowitz (SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center) and John Ruoff (SC Fair Share) are going with me. This will be our MLK Jr. Day of Service activity.

Our organizations along with AARP-SC, the SC Public Health Institute and others have put together a comprehensive talking points document with factual information on many of the issues surrounding the ACA. It is a great reference for the debate this week in the U.S. House and for future false attacks both at the federal and state level.

So today go out and volunteer to make a difference. Tomorrow I’ll challenge you to make a difference with your telephone.

Setting the Record Straight on the Affordable Care Act

If you get confused with conflicting messages about the new health care law, you’re not alone.

The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce (SCSBCC) and other organizations want the public, media and politicians to be well-informed with accurate information.

The Affordable Care Act Implementation Initiative (the Initiative) of South Carolina has released a Talking Points guide that includes essential information and content experts for a variety of topics related to the new law.

I chaired the Information, Dissemination & Communication Working Group of the Initiative, which produced the Talking Points guide. 

The Initiative is a public-private collaboration of over 60 stakeholders from the non-profit sector, state and local government agencies, health care organizations and others. The Initiative was convened by the South Carolina Public Health Institute in cooperation with South Carolina Healthcare Voices consisting of S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center, S.C. Fair Share, AARP-SC and SCSBCC.

The Talking Points guide provides essential information and South Carolina contacts for numerous aspects of the ACA. The information guide and the convening partners of the Initiative can be found on the SCSBCC  web site and is also available at: http://www.scphi.org/.