COALITION FOR AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE IN OHIO
What is CAHO?
The Coalition for Affordable Healthcare for Ohio is a group of organizations and
individuals who have come together to seek a health care plan for Ohio that will
provide affordable coverage to everyone. CAHO grew out of relationships among
organizations that worked hard in recent years to preserve Medicaid coverage for
parents in the state budget and to make prescription drugs more affordable. The
groups then responded to a call from the Universal Health Care Action Network of
Ohio (UHCAN Ohio) to start discussing longer term
solutions to the access crisis in healthcare. CAHO has adopted the
five principles for health care
reform developed by the Institute of Medicine (www.iom.edu).
Who is involved?
Early conveners of the coalition include representatives of: the League of Women
Voters of Ohio, Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA/AFSCME), Ohio
Council of Churches, Service Employees International Union Ohio State Council,
League of Women Voters of Ohio and UHCAN Ohio, as well as individuals who
represent local community, small business, faith, social service, civic, and
social justice organizations.
What will CAHO do?
Over the course of several years, CAHO will engage all stakeholders, including
consumers, providers, employers, and insurers in a process to unite around a
health care plan that would be enacted in Ohio. CAHO is reaching out to a wide
range of stakeholders who care about solving the health care crisis and seeking
endorsements for its broad principles and strategies for health care reform.
CAHO will seek input from endorsers and other stakeholders about the elements
they would support or oppose in a health care reform proposal. Based on the
input, CAHO will engage experts to develop a draft proposal that would
substantially increase access to comprehensive, continuous, affordable health
care. CAHO will seek stakeholder input and support for the plan. The ultimate
goal is to create a health care plan adopted by the Ohio legislature that will
secure continuous, quality, affordable health coverage to all Ohioans.
While this effort proceeds, CAHO will be educating, organizing, and activating
the public: educating about the nature of the health care crisis and choices
among solutions; organizing people in regional networks, particularly in key
legislative districts; and activating people to preserve and expand the existing
health care safety net as the foundation for our future plan.
What will organizations and individuals be asked to commit?
To achieve our goal, CAHO will need many resources – “time, talent and treasure”
– from many organizations and individuals. Each endorser will need to determine
its commitment, if any, beyond endorsement, understanding that success will
depend, in part, on resources.
How long will this take?
This is a long-range effort, and is likely to take five or more years to
achieve, depending on national and state developments.
Why do we need another coalition or group?
Currently, there does not exist in Ohio a broad coalition dedicated to building
a statewide process to develop a health care reform proposal based on continuing
input from all stakeholders who embrace broad principles for providing health
coverage to everyone and with broad enough support that the proposal will be
enacted.
Click here for more information about CAHO.
Click here to return to Uhcan Ohio website.
CAHO
c/o Uhcan Ohio (614) 456-0060
Project Consultant: Kathleen Gmeiner