Philadelphia City Council Endorses the Public Healthcare Advocate!
Thursday, November 14th, 2024, Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution to call on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to establish an Office of the Public Healthcare Advocate within the Office of the Attorney General.
Minority Leader Kendra Brooks introduced the resolution Thursday morning, and Philadelphia residents and members of Put People First! PA shared their personal stories with the healthcare system to show the potential impact of a Public Healthcare Advocate.
Read members testimonies and watch the livestream below!
The office would directly assist residents in resolving wrongful insurance denials, overbilling, addressing issues caused by regional hospital closures, improving quality of care from medical providers, educate and inform residents as to their health care rights, and help to protect Pennsylvanians access to care under the new Presidential administration.
This resolution comes on the heels of the successful passage of a similar resolution calling for an Office of the Public Healthcare Advocate in Lancaster, PA City Council.
Click here to view the City Council resolution.
Click here to read the white paper on the proposed Office of the Public Healthcare Advocate, produced by Put People First! PA.
(Photo: Southeast PA Healthcare Rights Committee members Anita, Jacob B., Jeanette and Zevi standing with Councilwoman, Kendra Brooks (in yellow), who introduced the resolution on Thursday.)
Member Testimonies & Livestreams
Zevi’s Testimony
Hi, my name is Zevi. I live in West Philadelphia and I’m a proud member of Put People First! PA. I am speaking on Councilwoman Brooks’ resolution on a Public Healthcare Advocate, or PHA.
I’m a healthcare worker – a therapist at an agency that sees people, mostly kids, on Medicaid. It’s great that they have access to Medicaid! And, something that’s very clear to me is that what would most help these kids is living in a society that actually meets their basic needs. If their parents didn’t have to work all the time, be stressed all the time, a lot of their pain and their “behavioral issues” would go away. More than anything, my patients need an end to poverty. And we know that won’t happen overnight, but it’s something we need to fight for, and having a Public Healthcare Advocate is a step in the right direction.
In Put People First PA, we started organizing for a PHA in 2016 after winning town halls with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. Through that, we learned that the regulators have very close relationships with the insurance companies, but there’s no one in government who actually represents us, the people who use and need healthcare, making sure that big healthcare decisions in society are actually benefiting us.
What we’ve seen, over and over, is that decisions are not benefiting us. Instead, decisions are being made that prioritize profits for healthcare profiteers. And these decisions are making us suffer and die needlessly. Just one example is hospital closures. At least 15 hospitals have closed in Pennsylvania in the past 5 years. This is a catastrophe. Just a couple blocks from my house in West Philly, a hospital shut down the Intensive Care Unit because it wasn’t making enough money. Hahnemann Hospital was bought and closed by someone who thought he could make more money flipping it as real estate. And this was all just allowed to happen because there’s no one in government who has the power to say, “you can’t do that” – which is what a Public Healthcare Advocate would do.
The PHA legislation is powerful because it is statewide. It would help people in Philly and also in Delaware County, Scranton, Altoona, Johnstown. We talk and build with people in all of these places and wherever we go, people agree with us – yes, this system is broken, we are hurting. We need care and can’t get it. And it is powerful, in a time where so many issues are being used to divide and pit us against each other, that the need for healthcare unites us. Through our struggle for a public healthcare advocate, poor and working class people are coming together across all of our divisions to fight for what we all need. Thank you for supporting it. Watch Zevi’s livestream here!
Jeanette’s Testimony
My son Tyrone was on blood thinners when he was denied Medicaid. He couldn’t get his medication anymore, and had a heart attack and died. I wish there was someone who could have fought for my son, like a Public Healthcare Advocate. Watch Jeanette’s livestream here!
After the event, Jeanette reflected, “I enjoyed speaking to the councilmen and women. Telling told my stories about my son and how he was denied medical assistance. It really hurt me to talk about Tyrone, but they need to know. I will never see my Tyrone again. R.I.P, my love, gone but not forgotten. I love you all for supporting me in this struggle.”
Antoinette’s Testimony
Hi, my name is Antoinette Saunders, and I live in North Philly with my seven children. I am speaking on Councilwoman Brooks’ resolution on a Public Healthcare Advocate. My experience with Medicaid has been a rocky road. My whole family has Medicaid. When you’re pregnant there’s certain things insurance is supposed to do. All appointments are supposed to be covered like the stress test, testing the compatibility of the fetus and mother, and testing the fetus for any abnormalities. Dental is also supposed to be covered. That was not my experience. I was hospitalized thrice during my pregnancy, with my doctor pushing for unnecessary procedures, and I left. The third time, my daughter was born and had to stay in the NICU.
I have periodontal disease, which can lead to death if untreated. When I went to the dentist, I was denied, and had to pay out of pocket which I can’t do because I can’t afford it. Even at the free clinics, they were doing cleanings which is not going to treat the disease because Medicaid wouldn’t cover all of the dental care I needed.
With my oldest daughter I’ve been fighting to keep her on medicine. The doctor has sent in her prescription multiple times, and her insurance keeps denying it. This occurs at all the different pharmacies we go to.
My youngest boy had to have surgery on his mouth, they fixed what they needed to fixed. A few weeks later, I got a letter from insurance telling me they wouldn’t cover it. I have filed an appeal and am waiting for a response to that.
I deal with a lot as it is which causes my depression and my anxiety to raise, especially when it comes to my son. My periodontal disease is painful because it affects your gums, and if you eat, or if it’s too cold there’s pain. It’s not something I can put on the backburner. I try and treat myself before going in to the doctors. I don’t like that healthcare is a money making industry. The way to change that is organizing together. We need to make the voice of the people heard, so that is why I support a Public Healthcare Advocate. Listen to Antoinette’s story read by Anita on the livestream here!
- Medicaid, Medicaid Cut Offs Organizing Drive, Member Reflections, Nonviolent Medicaid Army, Pennsylvania Insurance Department, Public Healthcare Advocate, Southeast PA
- City Council, pha, philadelphia, public healthcare advocate, resolution